Ideal Red: 弱い獣
by Messed-upSaia
Summary: Each one of us have different stories to tell. Some stories are too low to even remember. Too low to even talk about, and yet these are still pieces of ourselves that make us for who we are right now. And I for one, destroyed the wrong lives and saved the unworthy. Will you hear me out? (Update: Chapter 4)
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Enemies**

Black and red. Molds and rusts. These are the tidbits of words that adorn my new 'home', there's nothing all special in this room where I'm contained– imprisoned, but there is a bed to sleep on, a table, and a chair for my visitors. For a ghoul who's just an errand dog for humans, it's not that bad, right?

Oh, wait. Allow me to start a few introductions of myself.

The name that humans has given me is 'Saika', but it may change when necessary for underhand assignments, although it's what they call me at all times.

I'm a ghoul, not a special one to say the least, but ordinary enough to blend in the outside world. That's an advantage for me of course. But that's about it for now, I'm not really good at introductions, so I just keep it simple and brief to anyone who manages to read this.

Now, this is where it all should start – no compelling words, no misleading antics to grab attention.  
But it is still important to me, to anyone who is seeking of the truth of this rotting world.  
Someone needs to know this.

...

It all began a few ungodly days before I met the half ghoul and half human being: Kaneki Ken.

However, this isn't a promising story of fairytales you usually see in books but everything I will tell you are puzzle pieces that show how humans are not any different from the ghouls whom they deem as evil and murderers, that they are also liable for retribution and that Kaneki-san is the only one that can make things right.

I know I'm the last person who should be telling all this but I have to, at least as an atonement for being a coward that have rendered me to the hell I'm in right now.

Each person, each ghoul, everyone has tragic tales to tell. As for mine...

I couldn't remember how long I served the humans but I could never forget the first words I had told them before they nearly dragged the life out of me. "Please don't kill me. I will do anything" these undying words was etched forever in my memories and would continue to haunt me until I the day I meet my grave. It wasn't expected for a ghoul to say that in front of humans, much less plead for life, especially when the never ending friction to both sides hindered any form of peace. And thus, hearing my plea, the humans made a decision to use me in their forces (known as CCG), in return, that I must swear fealty to them and I did, I continued to rot from within as I bent my knee for them.

They forced me to throw away my own kind and work with them to exterminate all other ghouls and I did so, I had no other options.

And so there I was, in my straight jacket with a newly arrived visitor in front of my eyes to witness and increase my craving. It was a man, as always. He was shaking, I could hear his teeth clatter in his jaws as he found my eyes under my long fringe.

_Very appetizing... But..._

"Last one for the week," said one of the investigators who handled me.

The frightened man sitting across me froze as he heard the steel door glued shut behind him. He was left alone with me.

"Don't worry," I said in a sing-song tone, "You can tell all your hardships in prison with me now, maybe that can lift your spirits," I went on as my lips produced a warm and comforting smile.

"I-It w-w-won't change anything! I'll be e-e-executed either way!" he stuttered. His eyes was full of regret and despair, I had seen it clearly.

"Yes, it won't change your fate but there is no need to carry all the burden to the end."

He began to raise his voice at me, "What? Who the hell are you supposed to be? Some GREAT psychiatrist they said! You know nothing! You look more fucked up than me!" the raging man pointed at my clothing, "You're from an asylum, bitch. I'm not stupid."

"You shouldn't judge me right away." I had decided to ignore his rash insults on me and started collecting proper words to ease his mind, "They sent you here to help you and I tell you that I _can_ help you. I promise that everything will be all right." My smile remained, it was the only thing I could do in my state, there was no way that I could be his shoulder to cry on.  
The man gazed at me for seconds and reluctantly calmed himself down under my soothing voice. It appeared he had given me a chance to talk to him more.

"All right. I'll let you help me. Not like I have a choice anyway..."

"That's the spirit! Now smile, smiles always keep the sadness away... You'll be okay."

Hesitantly, his mouth formed a smile as he took my small advice. He looked at me with hopes to share his burden with. He seemed like he kept all his pain bottled up alone.

But he was calm now, he felt safe around me. That was good.

Fear and rage fouls the flavor after all.

"Thank you for being willing to listen to me," he said in relief.

"Yep. Been nice knowing you." The smile on my face dropped like stone.

My kagune rippled around my shoulders then rapidly projected crimson spikes at the smiling and helpless man in front of me. The fiery projectiles had hit his vital parts, killing him before he could register what was happening.

He fell from his seat and onto the cold ground with the hopeful smile across his face as his blood pooled contentiously around him.

You can guess what goes on next.

He was the last one for the week after all, the investigator said so.

I devoured the man like there was no tomorrow, I may had restraints all over my body but my mouth wasn't. My teeth can rip through flesh, that was all I needed.

I saved his head for last. He was still smiling as though his face would stay like that forever, "You died with a sliver of hope to hold onto. You're still lucky you didn't have to witness hell right away."

And then my meal ended there after I ate what was left of him.

The man tasted bland at first but he had a unique after taste on some parts of his flesh, like his heart.

He was no different from other people who were lured in here with honeyed words that would assure them that I could make things 'okay' for them. The humans have their own twisted ways to reach their selfish desires after all, no matter what the cost was.

The steel door opened and revealed the investigator's empty gaze, not interested enough to mind the cesspool in my room, "You're done, I suppose. Get ready." Fresh blood coated the air, it smelled wonderful to every ghoul.

I wiped the dry blood that formed around my lips, "Where am I getting sent off to?" I asked as though I was used to the job: luring ghouls into a death trap as I despicably keep held onto my dear life. It was selfish, I know but as long as humans had their claws ready around my neck, I couldn't do anything. While I wasn't entirely responsible for the deaths of unfortunate ghouls, I still felt that I was the one suffered to all the pain brought to them, it was always painful to watch the light leave their eyes while the humans who ordered me around received all the satisfaction from it. It felt like a part of me died and ripped me apart, these victimized ghouls trusted and sheltered me while I had them stabbed on their backs. No one can get used to this pain.

"The 20th ward. Investigate and send reports ASAP," I saw a grin on his face, so vile and unforgivable, "Mado-san and Amon-kun will see to your _every_ action."

"I see." My straight jacket disengaged around my form, its metallic and leather straps released and dropped to the ground with a snap. This was another crime I was about to commit.

"You'll be rewarded accordingly," he added further.

Even so, in return for my loyalty, the humans would send one of their own to _satisfy_ me, to keep me alive and if they feel generous, they would let me wander around the streets at night.

_To be continued...?_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: T****hanks to those people who followed, faved and reviewed :)**

**** (c) to original owners for the cover picture, I only did the editing, hope you like it.**

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_**-Con Artist Arc-**_

**Chapter 1: The Butcher**

_One. Two. Three._

Three knocks on the door snapped me into attention while I was nearly dozing inside the conference room, _the_ modified conference room where meetings with CCG officials and investigators could have a word with me privately, I could tell they installed a few weapons hidden somewhere that would cut me down in an instant, however, I wasn't stupid to test if there really was.

Being the only ghoul in the domain of humans was no easy task, the feeling of safety was something I never received.

I suggested before that I could need a hand with my work (I just felt a bit lonesome), another ghoul to work with to be exact but they didn't give the slightest ounce of consideration to the idea and dismissed it wordlessly. One more mouth to feed was very unlikely, after all, they wanted to kill every single ghoul on the face of the earth, not breed them. I was enough for them and when I die, they could easily find a replacement for me.

Feeling frustrated after a while, I realized that was stupid of me to ask of, this was a dirty job, there was no justice in what I did, I shouldn't have other ghouls to shoulder this damn treachery with me.

I spun around once more. Time always seemed to move slower when anxiety swarmed your body.

The giant glass windows offered a fine view of the calm blue skies as I twirled around on the swivel chair in the middle of the barely occupied room. I had been waiting for 30 minutes for the investigators to arrive after all, I could literally die from boredom. _Bastards._

When I felt a newly found presence with me, I stopped spinning on my heels and saluted the two men who had arrived. I had to prove my loyalty to anyone I had to work with every now and then so they won't kill me in my sleep.

"Ah, she knows her manners," said an old aged man with sunken cheeks, his ghastly pair of eyes revealed nothing of his mischief.

The taller and much younger man with him said none of my salutations to their presence.

"I'm always happy to serve you," I almost cringed each time I said those words.

"Are you really?" he grinned sheepishly as he observed me from top to bottom. I could sense the hostility even if his smile widened from cheek to cheek.

I didn't waver from where I stood and I simply nodded with a courageous smile, my eyes seemed to betrayed nothing.

"Yes, sir. My loyalty is as good as iron and gold," I formally stated.

"Mado-san, we can't waste much more time," the stoic young man finally spoke.

Ignoring his other subordinate, he didn't remove his eyes on me, "You say words we _want_ to hear but _not_ entirely true."

_Shit. This old man is so anal._

My arms dropped to my sides and went for an honest response. Pretty lies wouldn't seem to work, "It's true that I can't bring myself to love every human surrounding me, but my loyalty is beyond question even so."

"I see," he nodded to himself, "Your hatred towards us is beyond question too."

_I loathe every single one of you. Every breath you take makes me wanna rip out your lungs._

No matter what answer I came up with, he could thwart it all, it wasn't that I responded wrongly but no matter what words escaped my lips, the result would be the same and be used against me.

I said nothing in return. There was no escape to his word plays.

He only smirked at my silence, "I do believe we are here to chat." It appeared that he still expected me to answer him.

I thought of less clever words, the undeniable truth to stop his charades, "I don't bite the hands of the runts who feed me. I won't sink lower than a dog I am." I tried hard not to glare, being furious wouldn't do me good, I would not fall for the bait.

"Hohh," he rubbed the tip of his chin with a thumb, looking satisfied with my answer.

"Mado-san," the younger male spoke once more, this time he got the attention of the older man.

"Right, right. Sorry to keep you waiting. This is regarding our new assignment in the 20th ward," he took his seat across me, "Amon-kun, have a seat as well," he gestured at the chair near his left side, "this might be a longer discussion." Right after a few introductions, he told me to take my seat as well.

I kept my silence once again. Firstly, I learned the old guy's name was Mado Kureo, he was a great veteran investigator and his stoical subordinate was Amon Koutarou.

Mado-san stated every targeted ghouls to exterminate, he grinned the whole time on how much he wanted to add more to his 'collection' if ever he could kill a worthy ghoul of his liking in the list. He was creepy and rather disturbing at the way he looked at me, it was like he'd be the one to devour me whole, at least that was aura I could sense on him.

Amon-san, barely talked but I could he was more serious than Mado-san. He spared me a few gazes and each time he did was as though I was getting murdered in his mind as many times I could imagine. They both gave off a feeling of murderous intent towards me but I couldn't really blame them. The hostile feeling was only mutual between the three of us, I supposed.

The veteran investigator passed onto me a folder filled with files and so I scanned it, the first one that caught my attention was a little boy and after a few papers of his information was his parents, a whole family to slaughter next. I nearly dropped the stack of papers, I'd never been task to play a con artist to a child before. The boy was only five years old! _Oh god._

"What's wrong? You look pale," Mado-san pointed out, his other eye was squinted and while the other looked like it would bulge out of its socket, making it hard to meet his horrid gaze.

"Nothing."

"Oh? This one's a family, don't look so down. They'll be together in the after life – Ah! You feel pity for the child?" his smile and eyes was sinister and his words was poison to me.

"... It's only normal that I feel that way," I said blandly.

"Ghouls are often seen to wear all sorts of masks with all sorts of colors and designs to hide their identities, making it difficult for us to track him down," he went on and I knew that, but where was he getting at? "And it's the same for you."

"Excuse me? I have no idea where this is going."

He twirled his index finger around to show his point, "Your masks are identities you don't own."

_Well thanks, that sure helped how I feel right now._

"I see."

"You catch on very quickly," he chuckled, "BUT moving on. I want you to play a big role in this story," he pointed his index finger at the folder in my hands, "Though failing to properly do you part may cost you your life," he stated and I didn't need to hear that, I didn't need anyone to point that out because I knew it very well with my eyes closed of what all the consequences were.

"What is it? A whore? A slave? A thief? Anything."

And yet there was I again, a sudden change of heart as soon as my life was threatened. It was a habit of myself that I couldn't rid of anymore. I really did pity for other ghouls and yet I was willing to sacrifice them for the sake of my living. I know the price to my every action. I only wished for everything to end sooner.

_I'm tired of this._

Mado-san didn't spare a second to state the treachery, "A butcher."  
He reached for his suitcase and placed it on the wooden table, he opened it with no avail and had me witness an imitation of a butcher's knife, its edges glowed a deep shade of red. No doubt it was a Quinque; a weapon made by humans to dispose of all ghouls and bridge the strength differences, he slid the deadly metal onto the table until it reached me. Dread began to crawl into my veins, "Careful, that is rather sharp. Use it wisely."

Staring the butcher's knife, I gulped and refused to touch it, that was when Amon-san took the chance to toss more files containing more targets in front me, _right _next to the freshly forged weapon.

This would be a long day.

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**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :D**


	3. READ ME

**NEXT ARC:**

**\- Serpent's Bane Arc (Chapter 6). Kirihara's POV. It contains 2-3 chapters.**

* * *

**SUBMITTED OC LIST (not in order):**

**\- RULE: YOU MUST REVIEW IN EVERY CHAPTER TO LET ME KNOW YOU'RE STILL IN TOUCH AND SUPPORTING THE STORY, if you don't, say buh-bye to your OC. If for example you didn't review in the last two chapters before I updated to the next one, consider your OC removed (even if they already appeared, I'll just delete their scene).  
A strict rule, I know, but I have to because of people who're too comfy that their ocs will be part of the story as they read on and don't even leave some feedback, a bit unfair on my part, right?**

**\- And I suggest you stick around till the end of the story :)  
****Don't just care about your own OC, have fun and support each others' characters too ne?**

**-HUMANS-**

**1\. **Chesska - Marie S

**2\. **Raiden Rokuro - solacing

**3\. **Yuuna - Makiyo-chi

**4\. **Cecilia Niccals - Bright Blue Stargazer

**5\. **Jack Itsuki - InariKurenai

**-GHOULS-**

**1\. **Kirihara Kaoru - mercilessfangirl

**2\. **Takeshi - Demons Anarchy of Pride

**3.** Moe Natsuno - SDHS Otaku

**4**. Madison Luminere - mkraemz

**6\. **Rikio Hiroshi - ShinBP

**6.** Asura Haan - Demonpie17

* * *

Saika's Bio

_NAME: _Saika

_ALIAS: _Saika, Con Artist

_GENDER: _Female

_APPEARANCE: _She has long straight gun-black hair with silver-grayish eyes. She's slim and with an average height of a regular Japanese girl. Saika often wears dark colors for her outfits (like red, black or even gray). Her face shape is rounded with a slightly wide forehead that her bangs cover and her lips are thin and full, with a light shade of natural pink.

_CHARACTER BACKGROUND: _She has a record of being mentally-ill when she was younger as she used to hallucinate about her past-traumatic experiences and even her mother whom she never met but she had heard stories about her and seen her only in pictures, which is why young Saika was able to mold her in most of her fantasies.  
She considers herself as an errand dog to the CCG.  
Saika is roughly torn between the side of humans or ghouls. Would she stay with the ghouls who gave her an actual home or with the CCG who kept her well-fed and protected her from other humans? That is her undying question in mind each time she commits an action that might affect others.

_PERSONALITY: _A high-end pushover even if she turns a stubborn fit, she mostly can't say no to anyone be it ghouls or humans in front of her because it was a natural trait that came from her mother. She's often hostile to CCG agents because she thinks that they'll just use her until she's rotting in the ground but earnest and helpful when faced with ghouls, she prefer not to create unnecessary conflicts with them. She is also unfazed when forced to frame ghouls into death traps but cowers in actual combat.

_STRENGTHS: _Being able to use her silver tongue to slip away in tight situations and her agility.

_WEAKNESSES: _Her cowardice that brings her to tight situations and her lack of strength.

_RC TYPE: _Ukaku


	4. Chapter 2

**_-Con Artist Arc-_**

**Chapter 2: The Hidden Viper and The Phantom**

I more or less could assimilate the situation; on my left was a senile old man itching for the right chance to rip my head off my neck and the one the right had been wanting to smash my head in, but I was only drinking my usual bitter coffee as I scanned through the routes I was given to carry out my work. I barely made any sign of movement from where I was, I only took a few sips of my beverage and nothing more.

Mado-san and Amon-san moved and acted quickly, they do their jobs well I'd give them that, although they were so anal, "Ever since you two had been going around with me, rumors are now spreading that I work for you. I can do things on my own, you know."

The old man thought for a second before he could answer, "Rumors do spread around like plague. No matter, you shouldn't concern yourself with trivial thing such as that," Mado-san stated, lifting his index finger to emphasize his point.

"And we can't let _you_ wandering around unsupervised," Amon-san added.

I flicked a finger around the new collar set around my neck when I woke up that morning, "Yeah, I might kill as many people as I want with _this_ thing on," I said sarcastically. The collar had a mechanism within it that could protrude spikes made out of specialized quinque metals and with that, it could squeeze my neck when activated. A guaranteed death for me, surely, and for some reason a creepy old man had the remote and key for it. The old man liked testing out his new toys on me.

Before the young male could retort against me, the old man cut him off with him scavenging through his files and started mentioning names with his rusty voice. Names of all the current targets.

"Let's recap a few things:

Setsuna Michida - Female, 5 years old

Shizuki Michida - Female, 6 years old

Ryouko Fueguchi - Female, 20th Ward

Kirihara Kaoru - Male, S ranked

Takeshi - Male, 20th ward..." he went on with his list. There were a few details about the targets but no matter how small they were, it was all crucial. With Mado-san's sharp instincts, I doubt his assumptions were wrong.

"You know, I'm a con artist not some sort of assassin, I'm not doing any of this," I said, quickly returning the briefcase where the butcher's knife was contained, I didn't want it. Playing role after role just to trick other ghouls was already a ridiculous task to begin with and now that were rumors spreading about me being a dog to the CCGs, the ghouls could literally swarm around me and rip me apart.

"You won't?" he chuckled creepily, it was as though I was looking at a corpse livelier than me, "Perhaps you are in need of a thorough squeezing on the neck?" his hand went into his pocket, patting what was in it with a grin and I knew that was the remote to the device on my neck.

"No..."

"Oi, ghoul. Know your place before you turn down your own duty," Amon-san scowled, a sour disgust painted across his face as he met my eyes.

"I have a name. It's Saika," I declared, returning his scowl with a glare of my own. There was no way I could get along with these humans, their hatred was just as great as mine, if not, worse.

As we went on with our growing farce, Mado-san did the honor of separating us before we could break a few bones and twist some limbs, and as he did so, he reprimanded as both, he didn't took the side of his subordinate or mine. He was fair with his words, we were both at fault to him.

Amon-san clicked his tongue and fell silent. I may be a female but he would take me on with his fists even if he knew that, I was a ghoul to him and nothing more. At least he didn't discriminate. I didn't like men who went easy on me knowing that I was just a woman, though I shouldn't be one to talk when I couldn't even swung around a fruit knife properly.

"Saika-san, if you're very worried with your reputation with other ghouls, you could always try and clear up the 'misunderstandings'. Fabricating your words with lies is something you have a talent with, no?" said the senile old man, handing me a small earpiece and I reluctantly set it on my ear, "I'll keep this warm for you in the mean time," he patted the briefcase I returned to him.

I nodded and left the two of them. Coating lies with a much bigger lie was something I really _did_ excelled in.

He sure was strange, I'd give him that. I wasn't exactly aware what were his intentions as he permitted me to put an end to the rumors about me when he called it trivial earlier, so I just left it as that and roamed the shady streets and corners of the 20th ward.

The source of the rumors had to be somewhere in the ward, but how would I face those ghouls? Would I resort to force if I fail to convince — deceive them? But I wasn't built for the kill (fend off ghouls to be exact).

I guess I'd have to rely on my own caliber.

I didn't need no mask to hide my identity, my varieties of personas would suffice. And my weapons were words, my silver tongue, but I couldn't bet my safety on that. Hatred and greed reeled the world, it could be seen in every corner and swallow anyone, I couldn't make up for the ghouls who lost their family and loved ones because of me. There had to be countless consequences for all my sins and I was willing to face them one day.

_But I can't die right now.._

The dark alleys led me to a dead end, a wall looming over me on my way to the other side. That was when I noticed the sun had set, making everything at sight almost pitch-black.

A smile immediately formed on my face when I sensed a presence. I spun around to see nothing but thin air, and under my feet was a black cat and amber-like eyes. I thought I felt _someone_ had their eyes on me but it was only a cat nuzzling me for attention.

My body moved on its own to pet the cat, "I read that cats feed off their deceased human owners after their deaths, letting them live a few more days... I guess you're not so different from me." I mumbled but the cat only purred cutely as though it understood me and then I found myself distracted and mesmerized by it. That was when I felt another presence with me at that time, it wasn't human. Surely a ghoul who was watching me but before I could dart my eyes around, the unknown presence was gone and so was the black cat.

_What was that all about?_

"You actually showed your ugly mug here? You're really asking for a death wish, you _fucking_ CCG dog."

My eyes scanned around to the source of voice that seemed to belong to a guy. Loathe and regret was drawn from his every word, it won't end well for me then. There was no luck to finding the source even if I heightened my senses, I had never met a ghoul that good in concealing their presence.

"Doves, dogs, cats. I don't see any difference anymore in this corrupted world," said a calm voice coming from above, "Pathetic."

A lanky young man descended in front of me, he didn't look very displeased with me, more like interested but he spoke with a hidden sliver of hope — for what, I wouldn't know. He wasn't the ghoul I felt earlier with the cat and the first ghoul to have spoken was still nowhere to be found. Not good. I was drawing so much attention over a damned rumor.

The young man approached, his dark locks of messy hair was in contrast with his eyes that was in a shade of insipid gray, a color that was dull and unappealing to me, even so, he piqued my interests as well. He had worn a black trench coat with a matching gray turtle neck under it, he carried a knapsack over his shoulder, its weight nearly lowering half of him and whatever was in it sounded like clattering metals as he took a few more steps, he awaited my answer.

"Pathetic? You can describe it beyond those words actually. And you are?" I asked, taking steps backwards as he moved forward. My back had hit the cold concrete behind me, "You too, the one hiding. I know you're still here. Come out where I can see you."

"No can do. You're not worthy to see my greatness. They don't call me 'THE HIDDEN VIPER' for no reason," said the narcissistic guy._ And who's '"they"?_

"Kirihara, come out already," said the male in front of me. He probably referred to the ghoul hidden.

"Eh? Phantom guy's here too?!"

"Who is he talking to?" I asked, referring the so-called 'Hidden Viper'.

"I dunno," said the mysterious guy in trench coat.

"Well, I was just talking to this wall in front of me! Obviously!" said the narcissist, attempting to be sarcastic on me as he unknowingly gave away where his location was.

"All right. Keep talking to it," I said, dismissing him from the chitchat, "Might I know your name?" I asked once more to guy who stood in front of me.

"Takeshi," he stated blandly.

"I'm well heard of here, I suppose. A pleasure to meet you, Takeshi-san."

"Likewise, Saika-san."

"What the hell, man. You're supposed to kill her, not make idle chat with her." A younger dark haired boy with sharp yet calming shade of blue for eyes finally appeared near Takeshi, he wore a school uniform from a school I wouldn't know yet. His fists clenched and his teeth were gritting together at the sight of me.

"Why would I?" asked the older ghoul, "I still have an unanswered question to prioritize."

"Are you serious?" he asked, dumbfounded.

_Wait...These guys are in Mado-san's wanted list._

"Course I am," he shifted his neutral gaze from Kirihara to me, "First things first: Why did you allow yourself to be used by the likes of humans?"

"If there's a point asking her that, I tell you there isn't, Takeshi," Kirihara stated, "She's a traitor."

"I'm a traitor? Why would I be?" I asked, trying hard not to sound sarcastic, "All ghouls are like a family to me. I know they hate me but I would never loathe my kind."

Takeshi's brow lifted at what I'd said, looking skeptical, while the other ghoul remained disdainful towards me, "Doesn't change the fact you're usually seen with the Doves as you roam the nights with not even a mask on. You sure are carefree. Too carefree."

"You two are _smart_ men, you don't waste your time in rumors," I said, smiling, "A rumor's just a rumor if there's no proof."

"That is true. It's not like we've seen you with our own eyes or anything," Takeshi said and Kirihara shook his head in disagreement. I wasn't sure what their relationship was, but I assumed they'd work together to bring me down if necessary.

"What! You can't just let her off the hook like that!" protested Kirihara.

"Well, you can kill her if you want," the older ghoul proceeded to walk away with his heavy knapsack hanging on his shoulder, "I'll take no part of it."  
He disappeared into the mist of darkness, gone from sight so I was left with furious Kirihara. The chat ended as soon as it started, I didn't know what to make out of Takeshi's motives for his unexplained curiosity on me and I found it unusual for him to let me off just like that.

_Oh well, a different problem for a different time._

I stared at Kirihara who was silent and in deep thought, "Coffee?" I casually asked.

"What?" his eyes widened by a fraction, shocked entirely.

"I'm inviting you out for coffee."

"Seriously?" the furrow on his brows never left his expression. He seemed to scowl far too many times, perhaps it was his natural expression.

"Yes, I'll treat you so? I was gonna invite Takeshi-san too but he left right away."

"Fine," he sighed and surrendered, "but I'm picking the place," he scowled then added, "And that guy's just in a hurry to hide his loot."

"What?"

...

I let the hot-headed male lead me to a plain yet pleasant cafe, 'Anteiku' it said on its signage. A smooth and sweet aroma oozed from the cafe and yet my nose scrunched up from the familiar scent of ghouls in it. Though it was my job to leak information about locations of other ghouls, I decided to keep this place a secret for now, what the CCG didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"Get in," Kirihara opened the entrance door for me, the little bell attached to the door frame chimed, which alerted the employees of our arrival so I casually let myself in after I thanked him for the small gesture of kindness (no matter how rude he was).

"Welcome!" greeted a jittery boy, attempting to look collected but failed as soon as a faint blush on his cheeks appeared. He must had been new, I assumed.

Kirihara and I took a seat nearest to the window and across each other, he stared at me the whole time with his usual scowl from earlier. I didn't mind his rash treatment since it was obvious that no matter how much he claimed that he'd kill me, he easily got swayed by my invitation. He wasn't so bad after all.

Though I was getting glared at by Kirihara, my eyes were somewhere else, gazing and observing the timid boy who happened to wait on our table, "Hello," I smiled brightly. He twitched then returned my greeting with a sweet smile of his own.

"Good evening, ma'am," he politely bowed, "sir, I'm Kaneki and I'll be taking your order."

"Kaneki-san then, Espresso for me. Kirihara-san?" I glanced over to the seated across me.

Kirihara cleared his throat, "Coffee latte," he said, looking sideways.

"Espresso... and Coffee latte, got it," smiled the boy-waiter as he wrote down our orders.

I couldn't help but scrutinize over our waiter's mediocre yet enticing appearance. Scrawny but didn't appear unhealthy (just hungry, which was later proved true). My eyes fell on the side of his face as he conversed with a pretty waitress who somehow scolded him, his jaws weren't sharp but instead rounded, his eyes were rounded also and reflected all his boyish features— in short he was rather baby faced. He wore a mysterious eyepatch that hid his left eye, which peeved me to know more about him.  
One last thing to mention was he also appeared 'innocent', a type of ghoul that usually didn't last very long.

_You can't keep turning a blind eye on what's really going on in this world. I know because I've seen it all happen._

Even so, I inwardly smiled to myself at each discovery I made with the ghouls I've met today. I've never interacted with any of them this long, usually they were killed before I got the chance to know their story.

"Stop grinning. It's creepy," said Kirihara.

"Sorry," I said, "it's nice to meet you too, Kirihara-san."

"Shut up already, you sound like a pushover."

_Rude as always._

"Here's your coffee." A formally and neatly dressed middle-old-aged man was the one who had deliver our coffee in place of Kaneki-san, he wore a simple smile as he settled our beverage on the table, "You must be Saika-san."

"Yeah, that's me," I casually nodded my head then finally sipped my coffee.

"Do you have a second?" he asked.

"Yes."

...

"I'm Yoshimura, the manager of this cafe."

I was brought at the back of establishment, it wasn't fully dark since there were a few lamps that lit our way.

"I see. If this is about the rumor of me, I tell you: it's not true, Yoshimura-san." I sincerely smiled, "I don't have ill intentions as I'd treated my friend Kirihara-san in your establishment."

"What ghouls have seen was that you were usually around with the CCG and what you have said is another. But I will be honest with you, the hatred of other ghouls weighs more than your words," his tone suddenly changed and air around us was heavy on the chest."

"So you're saying you don't believe me? The ghouls have no proof. No pictures, no videos. No concrete evidence."

"Not very likely, Saika-san. They wouldn't hate you for no reason. You are not safe here. Your presence affects the 20th ward greatly upon your arrival, ghouls don't feel safe knowing that you may be a spy for the CCG."

_A spy... What a nice way to call me a dog._

This old man considered the safety to those around him, I could understand that but I also have a job I needed to do. I fell silent for a second, "Then what must I do to stay? I have no home to return to and I hear this ward is the safest.. I just didn't want to fight anyone."

"Why not work here at Anteiku?" he smiled warmly, "We could use an extra hand."

I clamped my hands together, "You'd let me stay?" he nodded. I guess that was one way to keep an eye on me.

"You can start working tomorrow," Yoshimura-san held out a hand I gladly shook it, "Welcome to Anteiku."

This way I could clear those rumors about me then report to Mado-san.

The collar on my neck seemed to have strangely grow tighter though.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 3 (Part 1)

**_-Con Artist Arc-_**

**Chapter 3: The CCG Trio and The Sly Ones (Part 1)**

_Inhumane screams and helpless pleas resonated in my ears as I ran through the narrowed corridor to save myself, the creaking wooden floors made sure that I'd be collapsing on it at any minute.  
Scurrying through more hallways, I panicked a lot more and couldn't focus on where was I heading off to. The heat felt like it was burning through my skin and flesh._

_The whole school was engulfed by the raging flames, it was tearing the place apart. Everything was burned to the ground.  
This place where I used to share smiles and laughter with other children and teachers would be gone into ashes, and there just wasn't anything I could do but watch it all burn._

_My foot trampled on fallen wood pillars and sharp tools that spread on the floor. My face made contact on the ground first and my small legs began bruising and bleeding.  
_

_'Come with us!' the voices of the people in flames screeched at me. Their hollow and pitch-black eye sockets stared right at me, the flesh on their faces bubbled then popped and melted away until the bones were revealed underneath their muscles, and their clammy arms were pulling at my limbs, dragging me to oblivion.  
Soon, their reddish-black flaky skins peeled off their bodies and dispersed into the heated air. They screamed and screamed my name._

_It hurts to hear it._

_It hurts to know that I'm the only one saved._

_That's why I never looked back to this never-ending nightmare._

_And yet it always reached out and swallow me in the darkness._

_"Are you okay? " a warm and familiar touch swiped me off the ground and helped me on my feet.  
It was my mother, her face looked worried and troubled at the sight of me.  
When my eyes fell on the loving smile she had finally worn, the flames were extinguished and the screams had ceased. She wrapped her arms around me and I didn't say a word.  
I only wanted to feel safe and sound in her embrace, "Are you seeing scary things again?"_

_"No... I'm all grown up, Mom. I don't see them anymore," I said, trying to sound confident. But knowing my mother, she could see right through my every lie. How do mothers do that?_

_"Don't lie when you look like you've seen a ghost," she caressed the back of my head with her hardworking hand._

_She stayed with me day and night, telling me that everything would be okay. She never left my side until I had fallen asleep and she sung her sweet lullabies as always, even though I had just reached thirteen that month._

_I was an early riser because the fire and nightmares would also bother me in my sleep so I wanted to wake up right away to end it, that's why each time I open my eyes, I'd always see my mother sleeping beside me. Her face was quiet and peaceful, it was very like her to had look so gentle even in her sleep._

_The next day, she insisted that I'd see the doctor to stop the hallucinations that haunted me for a long time, she said one of her old friends had finally volunteered to sponsor for my treatment and all because we were very poor back then._

_I was nervous while the doctor discussed my condition but my mother was there. She told me that everything would be okay and that I should listen to the doctor._

_The doctor had given me some medicine for my illness.  
And so the hallucinations vanished._

_Just as my mother did._

_..._

Sometimes I wished that I was still insane, you know, living in constant fantasies that your mind could create as you shut down reality's harsh misgivings, it seemed like paradise to me now. Weird, right? At least I was happier back then with all the fake nightmares and all, but now, these nightmares had came to life.

And that is called hell.  
I'm torn between the side of humans and ghouls.  
Although, I'm not being overly-dramatic but what will you do if you are on the verge of death and is given the ticket to live again, **only** by committing atrocious acts and live your life with a knife under your pillow? Probably the same as me, right?

Could you really blame those who happened to end up in the wrong side of the bloodshed?

* * *

"Where is _my_ coffee? Why did Takeshi got _his_ first?" Kirihara complained on an early morning.

The cafe was livelier than ever with the ever-furious numskull around.

The sweet scent of fresh coffee beans embellished the conventional shop, its dimmed lighting, plain painted walls, and lastly, the high-spirited employees complemented all four sides of Anteiku Cafe. The morning sunlight penetrated through large glass pane windows and illuminated the peaceful ambiance of the place, it was bright and comforting, it had been a while since I encountered the feeling of warmth.  
It really was the safest place for ghouls to socialize and interact with humans without worry.  
Given the chance, I'd definitely stay here if it weren't for those CCG bastards chasing my tail..

"Shouldn't you be at school?" I asked but he only pouted like a child waiting for his ice-cream, so I just settled the coffee he'd been looking for in front of him. He took a sip of his favorite latte and I discovered that he didn't always scowl, his face softened and looked earnest as he indulged the wondrous flavor of his beverage. When he was doing so, his other free hand proceeded to tapping his phone and texting to kill time in the cafe.

I couldn't say that waiting on tables and taking orders from strangers was fun but it wasn't bad either, plus it wasn't tiring as my actual job. I mean, I'd worked here for about a week or two (not to mention the Doves hadn't contacted me since) and the slow-running business helped me learn a few things as a waitress, nothing was ever rushed as the other staff was nice enough to provide bits of advice every now and then.

"I'm surprised you're a waitress here already," commented Takeshi who sat across the hot-headed boy. I often wonder how someone very collected like him could handle an immature and ill-tempered guy, when they were polar opposites.  
Hopefully, it was just a budding friendship between them.

"Yeah, I worked here a week ago and well, gotta prove those rumors wrong," I said, wiping the table behind them free of dust and dirt.

I'd been wanting to warn or give indirect hints to them about being targeted by Mado-san but they seemed like they were in his list for quite some time. These two were probably just good in blending in, just like the other ghouls who worked in Anteiku that kept a low profile.

"That works too, I suppose," he took the last sip of his coffee and stood from his seat. I curtsied to him as one of my first customers before he could leave. "Saika-san..." he mumbled, I immediately straightened as I heard my name but I found myself getting caressed softly on the cheek by _him_?! His hand was warm just like what my cheeks had become of.

I squinted at him but Takeshi's face didn't reveal a single emotion despite his tone when he pronounced my name. I heard Kirihara spurt out his coffee behind us, "T-Takeshi?!" he coughed and coughed right after.

Knowing the mess Kirihara made on the table, I quickly escaped from Takeshi's grasp and wiped the table clean and spiff. He didn't say another word and waved only at Touka as he left the money on the counter, to which the pretty waitress just smiled with a dash of confusion in her lavander-like eyes at the awkward display she had witnessed.

"Oi, Kirihara-san," I took out a handkerchief from my back pocket and wiped the sweet liquid that also came out of his nose. I didn't laugh though. He'd definitely kill me if I even just let out a giggle, and surprisingly, he had let me wipe his nose and down his chin, "I thought you wanted me dead," I said, looking into his baby blue eyes and he met mine with a usual glare.

"I won't kill you as long as you work here."

_Okay, fair enough._

"You're such a damn child, Kirihara!" Touka mused as she went over our table, looking irritated as ever. Kirihara instinctively snatched my handkerchief and cleaned his face on his own. She clicked her tongue as she complained about the mess that I already cleaned.

"Shut it, emo-freak!" he proceeded to texting again. I was no longer surprised if the two of them threw a few sasses at each other, considering the words that usually escaped their mouths and the spark of fire that burn in their eyes each time they made contact.

Ignoring the insult with an offensive line of her own, she growled, "Play dead, Kirihara."

With all the random things that went on, we seemed to have woken up the entire building.

"Are you three fighting again?" we heard the door leading to the staff room open, revealing Ryouko-san. Her silky-smooth brown hair extending till her waists, swayed at each of her step and her matching soft brown eyes stared at us in worry. Beside Ryouko-san was her little daughter Hinami who was rubbing off the sleep from her glassy chestnut brown eyes.  
The girl looked like a young carbon copy of her mother.

Looking at them both just reminded me of me and my own mother. _Which is why I smile to remember my mother by._

"You kids are causing so much ruckus," Koma-san commented as he descended the stairs, "I'm afraid I might tell Yoshimura-san." In order to atone for the disturbances, I apologized to the adults one by one and revealed that Touka and Kirihara were the ones fighting, to which the two angry heads hissed at me. Kirihara called me a traitor while Touka clicked her tongue and said I was a tattle tale.

Their bickering and me telling on them had become a part of my everyday routine.

* * *

That afternoon, customers barely visited the shop but when they did drop by, they always left with satisfied smiles and appetite. I didn't mean to brag at my temporary workplace but not only that the coffee here were exquisitely dainty but also the food served were exceptionally tasty, to humans to be exact.

Being bored at the lack of customers, I took a seat at one of the empty chairs and finally checked my phone (mind you, I do own one) for new messages._ Huh, three messages._ I tapped at the small mail icon on the screen, my eyes scanning the contents of the texts.

_**From: Mado-san (3)**_

_How's your few weeks off? A lot of things had happened on our end, but it's not so serious that we'd require your help.  
__The Gourmet and Jason seems to be active as of now. We're investigating the whole ward for their possible locations.  
__For further and detailed instructions, I'll be contacting you through the earpiece soon.  
_(Received at 11:15 PM)

_Coincidentally, Amon-kun and I were on the chase when we stumbled upon a few ghouls lurking behind 'Yumi' drugstore yesterday, and we didn't have the time to deal with them, sad to say.  
__You can handle them for us, won't you?  
_(Received at 3:00 AM)

_Also, I kept your quinque extra sharp for you tonight. Put it in good use.  
_(Received at 3:27 AM)

_**To: Mado-san**_

_K.  
_(Sent at 7:05 AM)

_What a pest. I thought they fired me already_.  
I thought to myself then shoved my phone back into my pocket with a disappointed groan escaping my throat.  
I didn't even have the quinque he prepared for me so why was he telling me 'to put it in good use'? Whatever he meant, I'd be tortured again tonight. Killing other ghouls with my own hands just wasn't something cut out for me, and I'd tell you that it would be no different from 'murder' in human context, except it wasn't punishable by law.

But still, when the CCG had told me to jump, I'd always ask 'how high?' just to live for another day. That was the kind of dog I was.  
So as always, I've got no choice but dispose of the ghouls I was assigned to.

While mulling over mundane things, my phone rang and vibrated vigorously again for another message.

**_From: Amon-san _**

_Check your earpiece.  
_(Received at 7:07 AM)

As soon as my eyes fell on the set of words, my hand flew to the side of my ear and pressed the small button of the earpiece and strangely, I only heard static sounds from the tiny device. _It's broken? But it was fine yesterday...  
_Then it struck me like a bolt of lightning, I let out an inaudible gasp at the realization that there was only one person who could have tampered with my earpiece: Takeshi. _That sneaky jerk. _It all came back to me with the events of what happened that morning with him, he caressed my cheek as he altered the device. I wasn't sure how he had done it but I was sure Takeshi was the only who had gotten _that _close to me.

_How did he know? How MUCH does he know?_

"Your boyfriend?" Touka inquired and her voice snapped me back from inner thoughts, she took the available seat across me. I decided to entertain her and save my questions for later.  
Touka's face revealed boredom as well and she probably ended up talking to a friendless person like me around.

"Of course not," I leaned against the back of my seat, "It's just those network ads sent to phones every now and then."

"I see," slightly frowning, she propped her elbow up on the table as she rested her chin on her white palm as she looked at me. Her long bangs covered half of her face, however, still revealing how beautiful she was with her almond shaped lavander eyes, button nose, and fair skin.  
She then stared out of the window where people passed the sidewalk endlessly and I joined her for that, it wasn't like there was anything else to do.

_THUMP!_ The silence broke when Kirihara slammed his phone on the table, "You're still here?" I asked him, slightly pissed for shocking the light out of me and Touka shared the same expression as me.

"What do _you _want now?" asked Touka, rolling her eyes.

Kirihara gave her a smug smirk as he ignored my question, "Yoriko-chan's inviting you to hang out in the festival at school and said you weren't replying to her," he stated proudly, showing the message on his phone of the said girl to Touka.

"Really?!" Touka almost jumped from excitement as her eyes suddenly glimmered bright at the news, it was rare to see like that.  
With an overjoyed look on her face, she swiftly grabbed her phone in her pocket to see the messages for herself.

"Yeah." That was when the dark haired ghoul began to grin suspiciously, "But, a waitress like _you_ should just stay and chop coffee beans or whatever! Bye suckers."  
The bastard started to laugh mockingly as he walked for the door, his laughter filling the whole place to the brim until he finally left.

_Well that was some serious burn on Touka._

Instantly, Touka looked like a bomb was just dropped on her, her happiness sunk under Kirihara's mockery in a blink.  
She realized that her shift hasn't ended yet and knowing that there were zero customers at the moment made her more pissed for not being able to see her friend, "Can't we just ban him from coming here?" she slammed a fist on the table, her teeth biting against her bottom lip, the wooden furniture nearly collapsed under her sheer force as she emphasized how angry she was.

An idea rang into my mind that might just help angry dark-haired girl, "I'll cover for you."

"This better _not_ be another trick to get my hopes up," she said firmly.

"No, just be sure you land a punch on Kirihara. _H__ard_," this time, I grinned at the idea.  
I waved at her as she practically sprinted off to change into her usual tomboyish clothing and leave the shop.

About 5 hours flew by when my shift had finally ended. Sitting around with nothing else to do was also a tedious job, so I lazily paced for the dressing room to change into my everyday clothes. I wasn't entirely gung-ho about fashion so I basically wore a plain red jacket with a hoodie and white t-shirt underneath, then a pair of black shorts that extended above my knees, plus some black snickers for my footwear.  
I let my hair hang loosely on my back instead of tying it into a bun like I usually do at work.

With that, I made my exit from the establishment and headed around the city to pass time. As a ghoul, I could say that weren't much to be interested in roaming the places of Tokyo, everything erected in it were just shops filled with material things that could only be used to humans. There were tons of ordinary and extravagant restaurants and desert parlors, all in different tastes and themes to serve the pleasure of its people. But all of these sorts of delicacies made every ghoul vomit and harm their appetite, despite it all I still wandered wherever my feet could take me.

The sea of crowd was just endless in the busy city, they all went in every direction that anyone might lose their way if they spaced out even for a second. I knew because I got distracted once while I pushed my way through the masses and frankly speaking, I did end up in a place I'd least expected.

I stopped on my tracks as I found myself in front of a children store, behind the tinted glass displayed two female mannequins, one taller in a brilliant blue dress with a bow tied behind holding her smaller counterpart that wore a red dress with flowery embroidering on its hems and collar, which I could guess that the two were supposed to be a mother and her daughter. Their white faces only revealed their smiling mouths as they froze like that for eternity, holding hands together, shoving me an image of my ideals as a daughter and I was drawn to it even more as I could imagine it.

"E-Excuse me, Saika-san?" I was taken aback when I heard my name being pronounced in a weird accent by a woman. I turned around to see a group of three people staring at me as though I was some zoo animal.

_God, why does everyone know me._

"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you?" In front of me was what I assumed to be foreigners, although the other one who looked older than the other two seemed Japanese.  
And two of them were men and the other was a young woman who stared at me with curiosity. They all carried familiar briefcases in hand,

"Mind if we talk in a more private place?" asked a pale-looking young man, he appeared to be uneasy with the amount of crowd around us.  
He had wavy brown hair that had bangs swept to the left of his face, and had deep sky blue eyes with amber rings around the irises.  
The brunette had a strong and sharp jaw and a small and prominent nose, his body came to be muscular even through the formal black tux and gray tie he had worn. From what I could see, he appeared to be an attractive westerner and despite being one, he sounded fluent with the Japanese language.

"Uhh... no. I'm sure my mother doesn't appreciate me hanging around with strangers."

The older and taller man with an intimidating look smirked at me, "Heh, how old are you? Twelve?" His cerulean blue eyes scanned me from top to bottom like a book. He had spiky blazing red hair that pretty much matched his rash personality and he was wearing a dark blue tux and black tie.

"Rokuro-san, calm down," the gentle voice of the platinum-blonde haired young lady broke in. Her soothing blue-green eyes stared deep into mine with a sincere look. She had worn an indigo blazer with a black turtle neck underneath, a white pencil skirt that extended about her thighs, and a black stiletto that greatly increase her height. "We're CCG agents. We're sorry if we startled you," her Japanese accent seemed to be in a need of polishing. She must be new in town.

"Sorry too but I've got my hands full with other CCG agents myself, I don't think I need more of them pulling my strings."  
I knew I sounded rude, but talking to at least one of them always stressed me out.

"Could we talk there?" the foreign male still pushed through his suggestion as he pointed his thumb at a nearby coffee shop.

"Don't worry, Saika-san. We just wanted to know more about you."  
Well, she looked nice enough to seem like she wouldn't kill a fly.  
I thought for a second before coming with them to the said cafe, the strong winds blew in place of the silence between the four of us.  
"My God is getting frizzy," she softly whined as she ran her hands on her soft locks to tuck them neatly on the side of her chest.

_I think she meant 'hair'. I wonder who joked about Japanese homonyms on her._

"I'll come with you but introduce yourselves first, why don't you?" I forced a smile.

"All right," the blonde lady nodded in agreement, "I'm Francesca Valore, but do call me Chesska," she returned my gesture with a pretty smile of her own.

"Raiden Rokuro here," said the disinterested older male.

"I'm Christian Sans, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Saika-san," said the brunette westerner, his eyes darting sideways while he scratched the back of his head, looking a bit anxious. I could guess he wasn't used to the amount of people in the city but that was understandable for a foreigner.

* * *

I propped my elbow up the wooden table and rested my chin on my palm, staring at the CCG trio who stared back at me with their piercing blue eyes (to add, different shades of blue) waiting for me to make a move. I sipped my espresso and their eyes followed the movements of my hand. Okay, that was rather weird. I didn't go with them so they could record my every action then watch me with some sort of amusement.

"If you're just gonna stare at me for the rest of the afternoon, I'll gladly leave," I said, adding some pressure on my voice.

"We're sorry, it's just our first time seeing an actual ghoul," Chesska lowered her head apologetically, "We rarely had ghouls in the States."

"Now you're looking at one, you're free to take pictures."

"Actually, Saika-san," Christian sighed, "We have questions, we hope you don't mind answering them. I was the one who actually suggested this meeting with you because I thought we shouldn't just rely on the books about ghouls, so I concluded that it would be better to see one for ourselves."

"Just answer them to get it over with," said Rokuro. I expected him talk to me that way anyway.

"Fine," I groaned as I took a spoon on the side of my cup and twirled it around my coffee as my other hand tapped on the table impatiently.

"First," the blonde took out some papers, _stacks _of papers from her briefcase. I could guess that this would be a long afternoon, "Uhm..." her slender fingertips scurried through the papers then she mouthed a few complaints on where she should start.

"Give me that," Rokuro snatched the stack of papers from Chesska and laid back against his seat, he cleared his throat then started talking, "Do _you_ get irritated from sunlight?"

"No," I added, "Ghouls aren't vampires."

The other two watched as silently as Rokuro threw more questions at me and I answered all of it briefly with a few facts to include. I had no idea they were _that _curious about ghouls with the amount of things they wanted to ask.

"What's the square root of 49?"

"Where is this even going?" this time, after so long, I was the one to ask the older male.  
I do believed that he finished all the questions in hand then started to go about random things with me.

He clicked his tongue, "Do you know or not?"

"Seven," I finally said, groaning again.

"Rokuro-san, I think that's enough," Christian reprimanded, "Thank you for entertaining us," his deep blue eyes met mine.

"Thank you very much," Chesska said politely, her accent still distinguished.

"No problem," I sighed in relied that it was all over. "You three are good-looking people, why not go for showbiz and ditch the CCG?" I jested (though partly, I wished they'd kick themselves out of the forsaken org) and they laughed, except for Rokuro who looked disinterested as ever.

"You're very charming yourself, Saika-san. Why not take your own advice?" Christian said.

_I'm getting mixed opinions here, the other day Kirihara called me ugly when we first met._

"I'll get killed before I get my own showbiz project," I bluntly said, I stood, bowed to them, and thanked them for the coffee. At least they were nice enough to not kidnap and kill a ghoul like me.

"We'll be seeing you again, Saika," Rokuro smirked. He grabbed my wrist before I could leave and handed me the briefcase he carried earlier, "Use it wisely," he said and I frowned to realize what was in it and to think that it was actually mine.  
Then Christian tossed me a small object, a black one. I caught it in surprise and it was an exact earpiece Mado-san gave me.

Now I knew why these three _actually_ met me.

Wordlessly, I waved at them then left the shop. It appeared that I lost track of time and ended up coming back to Anteiku at around 6:30 PM.

* * *

I gazed at the full moon that seemed to look larger the more I admired it from where I stood in my room.  
My fingertips brushed gently at the crimson edge of my blade, it was indeed sharp and then I calmly placed my newly given earpiece inside my right ear. I activated it for the first time.

"I'm ready."

_"Good."_

_To be continued._

* * *

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	6. Chapter 3 (Part 2)

_**\- Con Artist Arc -**_

**Chapter 3: The CCG Trio and The Sly Ones (Part 2)**

With a map of the routes displayed on my phone, I was able to reach the said drugstore that the old man talked about. Its alleyway walls were marred by obscene graffiti, dirty trash were dumped on every corner, plus the undying and baffling stench that clung to the place.  
The azure moonlight lit up my way, bright rays bringing me into the future slaughter I'd commit.

The strong gales of the wind pushed and pushed me to the familiar scent of ghouls ravaging themselves on human flesh, the grim atmosphere made my stomach looped. I just wanted it over with, my collar was growing tight each time the old goat felt impatient as he instructed me through the earpiece. He even wanted me to kill the _human way_, I wasn't allowed to use my kagune to defend myself and kill the targets.

Earlier, I was informed of the names of the ghouls to be eliminated but none of those even mattered when I was told 'Kill every ghoul at sight'.  
The quinque contained in my briefcase was also screaming for bloodshed, I could feel it lure me cut through flesh and bones with the atrocious aura it omitted. Whoever owned the kagune it wielded was no doubt a blood-lustful killer.

The pathway in front of me was pitch-black, no light penetrated on what was happening along its pure darkness, but that was definitely the source of the scent. _One, two, three, four._ I counted, there were four ghouls hidden behind the shadows and there were signs of carcasses halfway gorged on, delving into the mixed amount of scent one more, there were two more live humans about to be devoured on the line.

I called out, "Excuse me," my voice sounding out of tune as it nearly cracked a pitch. Anxiety and remorse obscured my thoughts, thoroughly banging into my wavering conscience as I took each step forward.  
My breath hitched and sweat began to flow down the side of my cheeks like teardrops. The phone on my hand nearly slipped off my grip from the amount of moisture in my palm.

I heard a grumbles of movement towards me, revealing four men with fresh blood on their mouths and clothing.  
The smell of gut escalated through my nostrils, which captivated my hunger and my own blood lust.

"We're busy, missy," said one of them who had traces of meat between his teeth as he growled at me. Their scleras were as black as the darkness behind them and their irises glowed bright red just as mine did for hunger, but I suppressed it for now. My heart raced and pounded in my chest as if it wanted to break free from my rib cage but I emptied my mind from fears and guilt, I had to push it all away for my own sake.

"Sorry to invade your feeding grounds but I have a sister whom I have to meet somewhere here. Have you seen her?" I swiped away the map on my phone at hand and randomly picked a picture of a young lady (a ghoul too) who was assassinated long ago on the screen then I reluctantly showed her to them.

They didn't spare a glance at the picture but they did threw insults at me for interrupting their feast. "No, piss off, little bitch," said the same aggressive man who spoke earlier while his other companions hurriedly went back to the shadows.

"She carries fresh _meat_ also, for our family back home. If you'd like, we'll offer you some." His ears scrunched up into attention as I emphasized on the sweet and distorted lie I had given him: meat, mouth-watering and juicy human meat.

The man in front of me thought for a second, he appeared rather muscular than the other three and seemed to be at middle age. He was wearing a gray jersey jacket with lots of bloodstains and a matching gray sweatpants, his hands were balled into fists as he tried to come up with a decision. His jaws oscillated, chewing the flesh he stored in his mouth like an ape while his pine green eyes that were filled with malice trailed my possible movements.

"We want half of the share," he demanded, rubbing his dirty thumb under his chin.

"But my sister and I – " he cut me off with a scowl as he loomed over me like giant. He was much huge and buff in close-up, but he wasn't smart enough as he underestimated me far too much, which I made him to on purpose. Scums tend to dig up their own graves.  
Perhaps I should stop playing as a worry-wart sister.

"I don't give a flying fuck about you and your sister, hand over half of the _fucking_ meat you were talking about when – " I cut him off in short notice and without warning of a butcher's knife slashing along the expanse of his throat, slicing outward to the side, flaring his neck into a large blossom of red clarets.  
I was beginning to like the piece of blade of its exceptional sharpness that complemented my agility rather than my strength.

His horrific screams that choked into a gurgling plea would remain in my mind far longer than the actual image of my blade tearing up his neck. He was the first man I killed after all. With my own hands.

Despite the hesitations and pondering of killing another, I was perfectly calm as I watched him fall on the ground flat on his back with a sickening thud, mouthing curses as his last words, his eyes rolling back as life began to leave him, and alas he was _dead_.  
Thankfully, the scene finally alerted his _busy _friends so they decided to join the cesspool.

All three of them had their kagune rippling around their backs, gleaming a bright shade of rouge and ready to tear me apart as I did to their unfortunate companion. They threw more accusations and insults at me, surrounding me with their feral growls and claws.

_"You can't kill them with just 'that'. Need a hand?" _

An unknown voice broke through my thoughts, it didn't came from my earpiece but it strangely came from within my mind, echoing and slowly dismantling my sanity with the sudden malevolence that dispersed and poisoned my psyche. It came from a man as he let out a chuckle, leaving me a bit distracted and unfocused the more his laughter roared within me.  
However, my eyes could still register the land of an attack from one of the ghouls, I could only dodge though.  
The chuckles wouldn't stop inside my mind, it was so deafening and unbearable to hear as if it was out of amusement from seeing me struggle on my feet.

I knew my mind was going elsewhere from battle because of my unstable sanity so it was no surprise that one of them managed to create a hole in my stomach. It did pulled me back to reality with my realization that an unbelievable amount of dark red blood was pooling out of me, coming from the center of my abdomen. I trembled back at the horror I was in but I was somehow in a state of bliss, it _did _hurt, it hurt like hell and yet I was relieved.

This was suicidal, I knew it but I desired it the same time. I just wanted it to end at some point.

The men laughed at my downfall as I was about to meet the same fate the man I just killed. He was there on the cold ground, eyes seeing no light and yet his barren gaze looked right at me as if following me until I reach the pits of hell.

_And then..._

_Red. Everything turned red._

I closed my eyes.

_"If you answered me right away, you wouldn't be suffering from this amount of pain." _The voice spoke to me once again as I tumbled on the earth.

I felt like I was falling into an endless abyss, aimlessly falling into the void, waiting for someone to catch me.  
Then I heard my name, my _real _name after a long time, being called by a loved one. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling in my chest, I could still feel my heart beating within me, it made me so happy to even hear the soft consonance of my name be heard

Flinching at the sudden sensation brought into... my throat...? My eyelids fluttered open at the terrifying sight before me.  
Even under my blurred sight I recognized a slim obsidian tentacle claw crawling into my mouth. No. It was coming back inside me, that it almost made me gag and I did as soon as the damned thing settled within me like a parasite.  
Was that thing within me all along?  
What the _hell _was that? I only saw it for a few seconds before it slipped in me, it almost looked like a kagune but sure enough that wasn't how mine looked. It didn't belong to me.  
More series of questions reeled my mind and I still haven't seen the rest of the horror in store for me.  
On my fours, I hurled out what was left in me; my breakfast, my lunch, all I ate. I gagged it all on the concrete ground with tidbits and chunks scattering with the gaudy juices.

That was when I noticed what my hand had been holding onto and then the drops of red viscous fluid coming from my mouth. I brought up my hand in front my eyes and on my palm was what I identified at first as some sort of slimy tube that snaked around my hand. It was slippery and rubbery under my touch, and it had blue-violet veins braided around it. I squeezed it and it leaked red and gray residue. It gushed out blood and bile.

It wasn't just a slimy tube. It was an intestine. _Oh..._  
Realizing what it was, I shuddered and threw it aimlessly away from me, my eyes widened in utter shock and it had hit the wall with a gushing splatter and then it fell on the piles of dismantled cadavers which I recognized as ghouls who attacked me before I blacked out. _Was I eating them...? _

My breathing quickened in panic and horror as my heart refused to calm down in my chest, I was covered in blood and guts but I still felt a hidden satisfaction soon after.

The coppery scent of blood filled the air and I gladly inhaled it like it was oxygen to me. It was intoxicating like a woman's perfume.  
My hand fell on the expanse of my abdomen as I looked for the large wound I received earlier. It didn't hurt anymore because it was gone. Then I looked at the giant full moon above me, foolishly trying to search for an answer but I found none.

In the background a series of harrowed screams was heard from whom I assumed to be females.

"H-Help...!" Someone yelped. Hoisting up on my feet I went towards the darkness and yanked the two girls to the sight of light from the tight ropes bound around their body. I watched them as they tried to squirm away in fright but I wasn't planning to harm or much worse- devour them. I wasn't ordered to as the old man just dropped me right into his unforgiving trap.

Strange, it really was.

He ceased any form of communication with me thinking that those scum of a ghouls would be the end of me but he thought wrong.  
No doubt I would've been dead right now if it weren't from the aid by an unknown entity within me, or maybe I was just going _insane _all over again that I was able to vex with fate.

I ripped off the ropes that wound up the two girls together and I sighed in relief that they were unscathed, no visible scratch on their youthful skins and no signs of injuries. If something were to happen to them I'd be held responsible and I'd rather not shoulder anymore troubles from the likes of humans.

Both of them seemed like they were just as old as Hinami back in Anteiku. The startled one with caramel shaded hair and frightened peridot eyes had her whole body tremble at the sight of the mess surrounding them and _me_ the actual mess, while her orange-haired with coal-black eyed companion remained composed as she tried to coo her trembling friend.

"Go," I told them with ease, my voice tired and dead from all the sudden events brought down on me. They both twitched as soon as they heard me.

The frightened girl stood up first, she looked like a dog with its tail caught between its legs. She clutched on a small blade that she probably had used to defend themselves earlier, "T-Thank you. I'm Yuuna. Yuuna promises to return the favor." She spoke in third person as she shook, hot tears were starting to dwell in her eyes and on her flushed cheeks.

Then the seemingly brave one rose on her feet slowly. Her eyes filled with fury and her teeth gritting together, she lunged at me with great speed and I didn't anticipate it from a child. Well that was stupid of me.  
My gaze fell on the new wound forming on my side, the blade on her hand glowed like the brightest star. She possessed a quinque. _How did she get that? _  
The girl snarled at me, "For the FGGE. Now die, you trash...!"

Gasping, the frightened girl yelled to her companion, "C-Cecilia! Come on!" the brown-haired girl grabbed my attacker by the wrist then sprinted off until they left my vision.

The tight collar on my neck unclasped on my throat and fell on the ground as my eyes began to shut.

_I suppose that's mission accomplished...?_

* * *

This was certainly an odd feeling. I could hear whispers from familiar voices echoing in my room, my eyelids were too heavy to see what was happening around me but I forced it open even by a tiny fraction.  
My body screamed in agony at my attempt to get up from the soft bed, "Don't push yourself too hard," the calm and gentle voice clearly came from Yoshimura-san, his gray hair and wrinkled face was the first thing I witnessed, then my eyes darted around, seeing smiles from people I never expected in my condition. Their warm greetings welcomed me back from my slumber.

I blinked away the tears that was about to form under my eyes, this was definitely touching to see this amount of people rooting for my wake. There stood with the manager were Touka, Kaneki, and the least expected Kirihara who roughly scowled at me when our gazes locked for a moment.  
And hey, to me that was a lot of people even it there were just four of them surrounding my personal space.  
"Thank you for looking after me. Can I ask what happened?" I politely said to Yoshimura-san. I was too curious about the previous events rather than my actual condition.

He cleared his throat and stared at me with worry when I got my self up with the support of my weakened elbows, "You were attacked by the FGGE but you were immediately found severely wounded by other ghouls who recognized you as a waitress here."

"I see." He stopped at that, telling no more, not even about the ghouls I had killed.

The room fell silent, his words hung up in the air for seconds then I wondered, "FGGE?"

"It stands for 'Freelance Group of Ghoul Exterminators', they're all over the news as an illegal organization," Touka said with hatred clinging to her every word, her lips were pursed in frustration as she glared at the ground, "They're worse than the CCG. They do whatever the _hell_ they want and whenever the damn they _please_."

"... Those shitheads don't give a fuck about the law so long as they could eradicate every single one of us," Kirihara added with his fists tightly clenched, his nails digging into his palms. His icy blue eyes were filled with contempt.

Breaking the increasing tension about the incident, Kaneki spoke, "Anyway, Saika-san, are you all right now? You were in bed for a long time..." he asked, dusty gray eyes hooded as he lowered his head. I must've worried the poor guy too much. No, I worried them all of how much of a weak being I was.  
I didn't pry to ask how long I was blacked out, it didn't even matter anyhow. And there was no way I'd tell them how a bunch of kids took me down. I shut my eyes thinking how pathetic I was, I lived only to be shown even more how terribly weak I had gotten.

Before all of them left, each of them strictly told me to _not_ leave the bed until I fully recovered and that I wasn't allowed to leave the cafe alone once I did.  
Touka and Kaneki promised that they'd visit me whenever they could while Kirihara just nodded at the idea. They kept their promise of course, during the early mornings Kaneki would visit and prepare my breakfast (although, he averted his eyes away from the food on the tray), Touka visited during her lunch break and briefly shared about mundane things at her school as she always asked if I was feeling better each time she got the chance, and as for Kirihara, he'd not visit me unless he was either with Kaneki or Touka. He never talked to me alone and I often wondered why he was being a shy dork but I didn't mind as long as he did made an effort to see me.

They all shared tender care and concern in their own distinct way and that's why I grew to love them in no time. Deep inside, they believed in me, the rumors about who I was, that was nothing to them.

Maybe they're what anyone would call as 'friends'. Though the bonds were created in the least expected places with the least expected people, we managed to mend ourselves together with the small yet vital differences we shared.

I also haven't heard or seen Takeshi ever since but at rare times he'd have Kaneki send me some CD's or some interesting movies to watch. That might had been his way of staying away from my business with the CCG while still remaining in good terms with me for a reason I wouldn't know. Everything about him was just too vague for me to make a word of.

The strange voice from an unknown man never visited me till then also.

To pass the time, I read books Kaneki gladly lent me. Books that were written by just one author: Takatsuki Sen, whom he mentioned was an outstanding novelist at a young age. This said author was a highlight to every bookstore in Tokyo and was still a rising star.  
Lying down on my back with large soft pillows as support, I flipped through the crisp pages of 'The Black Goat's Egg' and I had to admit that it contained dark themes about a son and his mother both having cruel tendencies, but it was still very captivating to read even if I wouldn't have imagined Kaneki reading such brutal prose.

Then with nothing more to do I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Touka stood at the side of my bed, her soft purple eyes darting elsewhere from mine as she hid something behind her back, "Do you need something?" I decided to ask.

"Looks to me that you're all better so..." She took a deep sigh then her lips followed a reply, "Take these damn karaoke coupons from my hands." On her white palm were pieces of small-cut papers that labeled as karaoke coupons as Touka said. Her face was slightly red as she awaited for my response. It was rare for her to approach me about such things.

"I'll take it from your hands if you come also," I said with a grin which startled her the slightest from where she stood, our eyes finally met and her expression softened but as I withdrew from my bed she quickly spat how her voice was terrible at singing. Thinking back on when I was a kid, I used to sing along with my mother but when I was at the right age to realize a few things, I noticed my voice sounded like whimpers of a dying whale that could make anyone's eardrums bleed if I lay in the high notes and so I never bothered with singing.  
However, karaoke wasn't a competition to begin with that would require the best singing voice, and I wasn't one of those kill-joy loners. And so I told her to just look her cutest and that I was just as worse, if not, a lot worse.

I stared at the coupons at hand, surprisingly it was for more than two people. Imagining Touka sing was hard enough to accomplish but wouldn't we get banned for wrecking other customers' eardrums if we performed a duet?  
Tapping on a few numbers in my phone, I contacted two more people to join the once-in-a-life-time gimmick.

At around 7:30 PM, the sky was painted in black and blue with shining stars that lit up the earth.  
Touka and I had arrived at the entrance of Shibuya's very own 'Karaoke Kan' and I must admit, just by staring at the flashy bar, I could tell there were seriously a number of crowd in the place. Apparently, it became popular for the singing session of Bill Murray, which I had no clue who that was. The glittering rays of disco balls reflected different shades of colors at luminously painted walls while the sound systems boomed our ears while we were outside waiting for the last two people who'd accompany us.

To fit the rare occasion, I was wearing a slim red leather jacket with a whitish-gray tube dress underneath the fabric, I also had worn knee-high black boots. Touka on the other hand was an eye-candy to all the passerby. She wore a stylish black sweater, a smooth maroon scarf adorning her neck and a cute white satin ballet skirt that extended above the knees with a bow on her hips, and lastly a pair of white sandals. I never thought she'd actually pamper herself up when I told her to.  
It was my first time seeing her wore a skirt outside of school and work and though she was stared at, she remained calm but at times she'd drop a glare at men she caught checking out her figure.

"They're here," Touka nudged at me then shook my right arm with an inaudible gasp, "Wait, what?" she squinted at the two young men coming our way, her hands squeezing the life out of my poor arm.

Perfect timing, I'd say.

"Why is grumpy cat and _you_ here?" Kirihara pointed his thumb at Touka with his usual scowl. The young male had worn a loose buttoned white polo shirt that revealed his sharp collar bones, its long sleeves folded at his wrists and he paired the light clothing with a pair of tight blue jeans that made his long legs apparent. His hair was slightly damped and scented of cheap men shampoo. For someone like him, he sure knew how to pull off his own style.  
On his side was Kaneki, looking anxious in his red and black checkered polo shirt with brown slacks, he looked rather plain but it suited him the most than flashier clothes. At least he didn't look like the clothes were wearing him.

"Take a walk, D-grade idiot," Touka countered.

"Good evening," Kaneki said politely, attempting to break away the tension building up. His eyes were in awe as his gaze fell on Touka, to which she slightly turned her head away.

"I knew you wouldn't come if I didn't text you as Kaneki-san," I smiled sheepishly then glanced at Touka, "and I knew _you_ wouldn't come along if I mentioned Kirihara-san."

Honestly speaking, I could tell this would be my first and last time having fun with the three of them. The feeling of dread never left me ever since my injuries.

"Oh, so you tricked us," he nodded to himself as he was directly looking at me from top to bottom then his eyes were pinned on Touka, "Well, whatever," his cheeks slightly turned pink.  
Touka only pouted as Kaneki laughed awkwardly but still, with all conflict between Touka and Kirihara, we were able to settle our usual differences.

Before the four of us could enter the bar, I saw at the corner of my eye: two figures watching me from a nearby dumpster. I stopped on my tracks and took a closer look at them and they were two little girls glaring at me, then they approached me. The amount of crowd behind me prevented me from drawing away. The two girls grabbed both of my arms when they reached me, dragging me a few feet away from my group.  
"Can you please tell us where Shinjuku is?" said one of them sweetly, she looked familiar with her brown hair and emerald eyes.

"What's the holdup?" Touka asked, the three of them were about to hand over their coupons. I couldn't answer her when the kids closed up on me.

The two girls gripped on my arms tighter then the orange-haired and onyx eyed girl pulled me down to reach her level of vision, she whispered against my ear, "Our friend was getting eaten when you arrived. You were _so _late to kill those bastards."

I withdrew from their tight grip then I forced a smile which made their brow rose at my gesture. No doubt that the two girls were the ones I found at the drugstore incident, "Could you excuse me for a bit? I'll just show you a map," both of them easily agreed as I tapped my phone for a text message instead. They were still just kids that could easily be swayed.

**_To: Touka, Kirihara, Kaneki_**

_RUN U GUYS  
_(Sent at 7:40 PM)

I sent the message to all three of them and their phones rung all at once. They stared at me with a quizzical look on their faces after they read my message, "Well?" the caramel-haired girl asked impatiently, drawing closer to me.

**_To: Touka, Kirihara, Kaneki_**

_FGGE HERE.  
_(Sent at 7:41 PM)

That was when I sprinted wherever my feet could take me.

"GHOUL! THAT WOMAN IS A GHOUL!" both of the girls pointed at my direction as they yelled what I was at the masses. They grinned creepily as people started to panic and called for CCG agents to dispose of me. It was hard to believe that those amount of people trusted a sudden accusation made by kids.

I aimlessly made a run for it, breaking free from the sea of crowd and I was no longer sure if Touka and the other two followed so I sent them a text to meet me near Shibuya station. When I arrived at the station, the three of them were there already.  
After we were gathered in one piece, we hid at a shady alleyway and collected our breaths. Our clothes clung to our sweaty bodies. There we were still CCG agents to worry about when I realized.

"H-How did you know?" Touka panted.

I said under my ragged breathing, "The... two girls with me... they're the ones who attacked me before... members of FGGE."

Kaneki gasped, "Kids? Kids in the FGGE?!" I nodded in confirmation.

"You got your ass-kicked by a bunch of kids?" asked Kirihara, he loosened more buttons on his polo and sighed hard.

"Seriously?" asked wide-eyed Touka. _This is the exact reason why I wouldn't tell them my attackers where kids. Talk about mockery._

"Yes, seriously. So sorry I got beaten down by a bunch of kids." My breathing toned down but then I felt something rubbing against my foot. I looked down on my feet and saw a cat nuzzling me. It looked like the same black cat I encountered when I first came in the 20th ward.

Kirhara sneezed then rubbed his almost reddish nose at the sight of the cat, though he didn't complain one bit when I decided to pet the cat again.

While thinking of a way to go back to Anteiku without encountering FGGE members, a tall figure suddenly came out of the shadows. "You guys all right?" the man seemed like in his early 20's. His soft chestnut brown eyes looked at all four of us sympathetically as the black cat withdrew from my touch and onto the arms of the unknown man.  
We nodded and eyed him suspiciously, "I'm Rikio. No need to glare at me," he chuckled slightly as he caressed the black cat and it purred softly for him in return, "Why don't you come with me and meet some of my friends IF you don't want FGGE members spotting you around?" he smiled warmly at us and paced north and so had no choice but to follow.

I guess that's that for our karaoke night.

* * *

**Have you read the bad and good news in the 3rd page? Well you should~  
If you're interested in knowing more about Saika (cuz I purposely don't describe her much in her POV), her bio is also in the 3rd page.**

* * *

**~ REVIEW REVIEW FOR MORE CHAPTERS AND OC APPEARANCES ~ **

**Till next time. Stay beautiful.**


	7. Chapter 4 (Part 1)

**_\- Con Artist Arc - _**

**Chapter 4: The Fallen Order (Part 1)**

"Are we there yet?" I asked plainly, removing my red leather jacket and then tying its sleeves around my waistline but I received no answer. On my right was Touka who fanned herself because of the building heat in her body, on my left was Kaneki trying to catch up with the tall man leading our way, and behind me was Kirihara with a usual scowl across his face.  
We made a few introductions about each of us earlier to seal the awkward silence away.  
It appeared that Rikio knew me from the rumors and so he presented himself to help me out of the hands of the CCG, but I turned down his offer and told him that the rumors weren't true. The furrow of his brows proved he wasn't all convinced, but as long as the rumors had no proof against me, it wasn't something to worry about.

"We met before, haven't we?" he asked out of the blue. _I think not?  
_I shook my head in denial, "You must've met Neko then," the black cat cradled in his arms meowed softly over his shoulder.

"Oh! You're that ghoul back then with that cat..." I nodded to myself, "that makes sense."

"Right. I wanted to see the rumored CCG dog for myself."  
That was rather an unusual thing to say to someone you've met but I didn't think more of it.

Rikio introduced a few things about himself, he was rather placid as he explained he was a part of a nameless vigilante group against both CCG and FGGE and that it had spectacularly drifted apart recently. Their lot decreased in members due to the great amount of fear.

When we began to notice, he had dragged us to shadier streets and pathways for twenty minutes straight. He hadn't said a word on where we were going, but only said, "We're almost there."

But still, I'd just reply, "If you say so."

There was a tap on my shoulder when we had passed by the fifth alley dumpster, "Saika-chan," Kaneki called, his voice almost lower than a whisper, "Is it really okay to trust him?" his worried gray eyes looked over at Rikio who kept his pace and eyes forward.

I whispered back to him, crouching a bit lower to meet his gaze (I was rather taller than him with my heels on), "We don't have a choice." It wasn't like we couldn't defend ourselves from the FGGE kids, but if the girls who attacked me pinpointed me to their other members had been taken to considerable thinking, then we'd be on disadvantage.

The breeze was cold and strong, the silver-gray moon rays as I gazed at the vast skies made me feel empty.

"So what were they like?" Rikio broke through the hanging silence as we walked further, he settled down the black cat from his arms with care and it ran far and fast from us until it disappeared from sight.

"Who?" I asked. Getting lost inside my own thoughts somehow felt like an eternity.

He slightly chuckled at how oblivious I was for a second, his umber eyes were painted with mystery as he met my own dazed ones, "The FGGE that attacked you. Lots of other ghouls were ambushed by them lately. Describe them for me."

Tilting my head to the side and pressing my index finger against my bottom lip, I collected my thoughts of the two kids. "I see... They were two little girls. One had light brown hair with wavy locks and had a pair of amber eyes, she's timid at first glance. Yuuna was her name. While the other had mahogany straight hair and black eyes, Ceccilia was her name... I think. That girl is the vicious one," I explained bit by bit from all of the details I tried to remember, "they possess a quinque."

"And they'll pay for their bullshit..." Touka cursed with a hiss. After that incident, she had unexpectedly gotten close to me.  
To her, everyone in Anteiku was important and... a family to protect. And her smile would always be loving and true, though rarely she did.  
She turned out to be a beautiful by heart as well with her quiet and caring deeds for others.  
Firstly, I had ulterior motives when I arrived at the 20th ward but after witnessing the good of hearts of the members of Anteiku, I now wanted to struggle to grow stronger to protect them as well. Sadly, the CCG had always hindered my own intentions. I could tell they'd want me back someday as their dog and work me to the bone before they dispose of me once more but I had no power to refuse them when I pledged loyalty to them.  
_I'm a traitor and a coward, I know, but I got to have a code at least. _

Seeing the sour aggression that the violet-haired ghoul showed, Rikio clicked his tongue and grunted, "No doubt those girls are from the FGGE. They recruit anyone with deep grudges towards ghouls, so it is no surprise how devoted each of their members are. They'll kill every one of us no matter what the cost is." He quickened his steps and we followed him still. "There's news about illegal quinques are sold in the black market too," his tone as he stated more about the FGGE made him sound very troubled and unsure of something.

"What is _even_ going on now... There's one bad joke after another," Kirihara groaned.

Kaneki nodded his head, "For now, let's think of a way to come back in Anteiku... safely."

"I realized something," I snapped my fingers together at the sudden click of realization, "I'm the only one that got busted out there, it's not like those FGGE kids had seen you guys. You three can go back to Anteiku. I'll be fine," I gestured at the three younger ghouls with me.

Kirihara immediately scowled at the idea, "Are you an idiot? We can't leave you like that."

"For once, I agree with him," Touka pointed her thumb at Kirihara, sliding a glare at me with her iced lavender eyes.

Kaneki looked even more worried, his lips formed a soft frown, "We should go back together."  
_Of all times they could harmonize their thoughts..._

But I still insisted, if they were seen with me... they would be dragged along with my own predicament with the FGGE – CCG problems aside.  
"Go. I'll be back, I promise." I needed to quench my curiosity with Rikio and his gang so I supposed I'd stay and follow him.

"You're chivalrous in wrong ways, Saika-san. Don't let their efforts to stick with you to the end go down the drain," the taller ghoul bluntly said.  
That was a harsh kiss on my ego, I'd say. I did try to think of their well-being though and I still looked wrong doing it but I chose to raise my own silence and cherish the said efforts of my friends, instead of coming up with a pathetic excuses for my half-baked actions. He spoke maturely and direct, I appreciated how frank he was even so. "Besides, I want to show you guys something."

Rikio stopped on his tracks, his back was hard as stone as the bridge of my nose made contact at the expanse of his back torso. _Ouch_. Rubbing my reddish nose, I noticed that we were no longer walking on hard and dirty concrete but instead, it were green grasses taller than our knees.  
Fallen leaves tickled our skins as the winds blew on our direction and blocking our path were rusty barb wired fences with rotten wooden posts that barely kept it standing.

He apologized to me for suddenly stopping, then he turned to meet the quizzical look of all four of us. He pointed his index finger beyond the wired fences, our eyes followed, and then he stepped aside to show what was behind him.

My mouth was agape.  
I saw lips that were red like dried blood and it was opened wide enough to devour all of us the longer we stared at its bulged black eyes that had reddish spirals around its sclera. The dilated pupils was so lurid that it sent a shiver down my spine.  
Its buck teeth were razor sharp and its thick black tongue was perfectly laid on the grass, anticipating us and swallow us whole. Beside its white cheeks were its large rubbery hands ready grasp its prey. My jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the ludicrous thing.

"Uhh..." was all that escaped my lips.

I took a few steps back, few drops of sweat flowed down my forehead then down my stiffed neck. "It's just a clown's head," Rikio stated calmly, and he was right. But even so, it was a terrifying looking clown, it could literally scare the daylight out of any children. One more thing, it felt like it was _alive_.  
Its ghastly eyes seemed to follow our every movement as we hopped over the sharp spikes of the fence.  
Around the clown's head were colorful broken bumper cars, and scattered on the grass were small wheels from food and toy carts.

Above us was a blue with yellow striped gigantic arch that had little busted light bulbs forming the words 'Welcome To Shibuya Lively Amusement Park!', its large gray shadow stood over us. Although it seemed like a horror movie set now that it was barren from kids and also from business.

Touka and Kaneki stepped inside the abandoned park first, their eyes stared around with awe. They claimed that they used to come here when they were kids and that it was well-known for every kid in Tokyo because of the nonstop commercials about it, but then one day the authorities had discovered that it was owned by an elderly soft-spoken ghoul and concluded that the park was a trap to steal away human children that entered shady rides, thus became feeding grounds for other ghouls, so it was immediately terminated to the public for good.  
As for the owner and his employees of the park, they were 'gone', a much gentler word for _slaughtered_ by the CCG.

"This place sure is nostalgic," Touka's eyes was downcast despite the smile she wore. The park was a dump and a ghost town.

Kaneki agreed then approached the gigantic clown's head and he poked his head into its horrid mouth, "My mom brought me here for my 5th birthday and I cried when I saw _this_ clown. But seeing it again like this is kinda sad. I played with lots of kids here," he was wistful as he remembered his childhood.

Kirihara stared at the fallen ferries wheel a few meters away from the clown head, "I've never been here. Looks like a fun place though."

"Yeah this place used to be lively. Now it's _still _ghoul territory," then completely shifting the gloomy subject, Rikio climbed up the clown's tongue with a swift hop that brought him atop of the plastic appendage and he entered the mouth then gestured us to follow him in the obscure opening with a wiggle of his index finger, "Over here."

Inside the extensive aperture were severed parts of metallic train rails and a stack of wooden logs over the moldy grasses, which Rikio suddenly kicked aside until it was cleared of it from where he stood. And there it was, a manhole, an eerie passageway leading below the ground. The taller ghoul parachuted down into the hole and we followed. The scent of rusted iron and earth welcomed us when we finally descended. "Where are we?" Touka asked, our eyes adjusting in the dark.

Rikio reached for a small flashlight in his pocket and flicked it on, the sliver of its light brightened up the blotchy patterned rock walls around us and the cold ground under out feet, "Our hideout, there's a some people I want you to meet first before I take you to the temple." When we asked about why was he taking at temple of all places, he kept his silence for moments and ushered us forward deep into the tunnel and said, "I'm not being covert or anything but it's not something I can tell you unless you've seen it yourselves."  
We walked along the dirt and dusts that the underground had to offer, some sneezed and wheezed at the chalky enclosure where we were in.  
As we reached the dead end of the passage, we saw a large steel door with rusts adorned all over it. Rikio knocked wordlessly and it opened right away as soon as the third of his knock.

Behind the rusty metal door revealed a pale-skinned ash blond-haired ghoul with piercing topaz eyes, his nose was small but prominent and his cheeks were dusted in the lightest shade of pink, and he was lean yet he looked well-built, "Took you long enough," His strong features and unusual Japanese accent revealed he was very much foreign.  
A soft yawn escaped his plump lips as he stood under the door frame wearing a brown beanie on his shaggy wheat locks, a long-sleeved brown sweater that had black and gray stripes on its hems, and a pair of black slacks. He was rather hispterish with his garb but he oddly appeared an eye-candy even so. "Those recruits?" he pointed his long index finger at us who seemed like we were under hangovers from a party, considering at how ragged we looked. The strands of our hair poked out in different directions.

Rikio walked past the sleepy blond and plainly stated, "Not exactly." He started introducing us one by one to the blond ghoul named Sage, a British young man who had just arrived the country and was found by Rikio months ago, "I had a hard time convincing him here but here he is now. Anyhow, come right in you guys. Make yourself at home."

'At home'? Inside the hideout was unexpectedly filled with gloom and dread. From where we were, we seemed to have been brought in a living area or lounge. There was a black small couch that looked like some sort of animal chewed it all up, a dirty dark green carpet under the barely standing round table, and plastered on the peeling walls were newspaper articles related to ghouls, CCG and FGGE.  
Occupying the area were of course, a number of ghouls, deranged ones. Their whimpers and gasps upon seeing us resonated within the four concrete walls. There was a trace of fear on their frail eyes, I could tell.

Sage basically scowled, ignoring us the visitors, "It wasn't like I had a choice anyway."

"Mind telling us now why we're here?" I asked under an impression of impatience.  
Touka, Kaneki, and Kirihara sat on the empty old-looking couch, collected their breaths and relaxed there while I stood in front of Rikio (I didn't have a spot on the couch because the three cramped their bodies there).

"Sorry, please wait for a bit here." He side-glanced at the blond, "Sage, where's the other three?"

However, Sage didn't answer to Rikio, he was dealing with a ghoul clinging onto himself protectively at the corner of the room, teeth clattering and rocking himself in disturbance.  
The frightened man muttered words I couldn't hear from where I was but Sage obviously wasn't happy hearing it, he hissed at him with ice on the edge of his voice, "Scram, we don't need _you_ bringing us down." The rash words he spoke caused the man to ran off to the door, his limbs seemed to entangle themselves together as he desperately reached for the door knob then reluctantly left, and four more other chickened ghouls followed him.

"Sage, you shouldn't talk to them that way," Rikio firmly reprimanded, clenching his fists in slight rage even through the lightness of his tone.

The blond didn't faze from where he stood, he instead retorted with a fiery spark in his citrine eyes, "You should be worrying about the _other three_ you're looking for."

"No need to be looking for us."

Coming from another room, the said other three had appeared on scene. The first one to had spoken among them looked incredibly pissed with the way her arms were folded under her chest, she had hair black as coal that was tied in high-ponytail and surrounding her cheeks were her corkscrew side bangs.  
Her navy eyes were sharply rounded and her ears had multiple piercings. She looked like the delinquent type of teenager dressed in slightly revealing dark colored clothes.

With her were two more girls with an unpleasant expressions across their faces. The other had auburn hair with forest green eyes and she also had a piercing but she had it on her nose. She stood shorter than the other two and she looked like any other westerner I had seen in magazines.  
Lastly, a girl with tanned complexion, waist-length gray hair with bangs that almost cover her bright orange eyes. Unlike the two ghouls lined with her, she had worn a soft smile when she met my gaze in which I gladly forced a smile for.

_Okay... What's going on now?_

"Kuruko-san, what is the meaning of this? You do know we're decreasing in members recently, right? We can't afford to lose more," asked Rikio to the irritated teenager. His expression was more troubled than before when he witnessed that two of the female ghouls had heavy bags in their hands.

Before Kuruko could talk, she was cut off by Sage. Their eyes were solid glaciers as their cold glares clashed one another, "Philosophical differences."

"I know and I owe you big time, Rikio-san but I can't change my mind," Kuruko said, her dark hair swayed along as she shook her head and her glare was still in place towards Sage.

The shorter ghoul stepped forward with determination burning in her emerald orbs for eyes. There were no bags carried in her hands unlike the ones beside her, "As for me, I will stay." She paced beside Sage with a light crimson dashed on her cheeks, "I'm his partner after all."

Sage's raged expression changed in a blink. His face softened, eyes refusing to meet the female ghoul's intense gaze at him, "Lumiere, you're not obligated to stay with me, you know."

"Even so, I need to stay with Natsuno too," her eyes lowered in disappointment upon hearing his words and her hands were tightly shut that hanged freely on her sides. Sage only nodded in response to her.

"Decisions, decisions, Satsuki," demanded Kuruko to the tanned girl next to her.

The girl named Satsuki rose her chin up and proudly said, "I'm going with Kuruko."

Rikio relaxed his shoulders and sighed. His lips produced a sad smile that he worked hard to show.  
The way he eyed at them resembled a brother seeing off his little siblings, "I guess I won't convince you to stay anymore. Farewell then."

The two bid their goodbyes to Rikio and Lumiere with pained smiles of their own, except for Sage who roughly bumped shoulders with Kuruko on her way out of the hideout. Both were extremely hostile towards each other as they parted ways.

Sage and Lumiere didn't spare a glance on my direction as they made their own leave from the room with the gloom on their faces. The heaviness that clung in the air left with them as soon as the metaled door shut behind them.

That was when Rikio decided to shift his attention to his guests. He paced towards me, his smile dissipating into nothing from his features, "I suppose you'd want to wake them up now," he pointed to the ones snoozing on the couch. _I didn't realize these three were sleeping already._

I went over the couch, nudging them one by one awake, "Touka, Kirihara, Kaneki. Wake up."  
Touka was the first one to had woken by just the single poke on her arm, then next was Kaneki, and lastly was Kirihara who greeted me with a scowl at the break of his slumber.

"Sorry to interrupt your rest but it's time I take you to the temple before I lead you back to Anteiku," Rikio explained.

Kirihara yawned and rubbed the sleep off his glassy blue eyes. He clearly wasn't all interested with Rikio's invitation, "Say, you do have a TV here, right? I can't miss my show."

Snapping into attention, Touka rose on her feet. Her brows meeting together furiously, "Ah, gonna swoon over that actress again? Ugh. Creepy," she commented under the click of her tongue. However, Kirihara only ignored her when Rikio directed him to a room with the TV he was looking for.  
So I was left with only Kaneki and Touka when the taller ghoul escorted us to where he wished to.

* * *

The night grew deeper and darker as the breeze became colder yet calming as it whispered softly in its every sway around us. The trees danced along with the rustling of brightly hued bushes like living creatures under the crescent moon.

I was rather drowsy as I walked in the laziest manner, my eyes threatened to close at any second and my legs barely stood as I walked on the sloping terrain. The temple was approached by a cemented ground with gray and blue pebbles of different sizes residing on it until reaching the ascent. From below the ascension, I could witness the large torii (temple gate) erected on the main entrance but as I squinted atop the set of soaring stairway, I could see fine wooden impalement at each side of its steps. There was something anchored atop it but I couldn't see very well.

Rikio spoke more stories of the group he was in. He called it old and feared but now old and weak ever since the FGGE plummeted on them to their downfall. He still wouldn't explain why they feared the FGGE most than the CCG but he told us that we were almost to the truth, "I didn't mean to cause misunderstandings with you when I had you witness the internal conflicts within the group but I think it's right to show it and not only our good side." His faction killed a fair share of Doves as he added, he had forgotten the numbers but he said that despite the achievements, there were no leaders or commanders that shadowed their killings and that he was only a mediator that kept the group together with all he could. The nameless order he was in was important to him.

"It must have been tough," Kaneki assumed.

"Yeah," Rikio nodded his head, "Especially when Sage doesn't even try to sweeten up his words when members get depressed and hopeless."

I muttered a complaint when the ball of my feet ached, "Are we there _yet_?" I asked, finally ascending the set of stone-built stairs.

The taller ghoul suddenly stopped, this time I saw it coming and didn't hit my nose, fortunately.

"Yes."

I heard a small gasp from Touka who stood frozen beside me, her almond shaped eyes was wide and her jaw nearly dropped to her feet at the sight before her, "What the hell...?" She shared the same shocked expression with Kaneki while Rikio was surprisingly calm as the dread of the skies.  
It was my turn to see what Rikio wanted to unravel before us.

Then I saw it clearly now – what was hoisted on the impalements I had seen earlier.

An awful display of atrocities and cruelty made my stomach twist.  
It were heads in different casted emotions, their skins were flaky and peeled from being toasted under sun and it was the edge of summer. Chunks of their skins were roughly bitten off by crows.  
Stench of their rotten flesh disturbed my sense of smell, it was unpleasant as it was on the eyes.  
Some faces looked surprised, some looked scared, and some appeared expressionless even at the face of death. I swallowed and glared questionably at Rikio. He was silent but there was hatred written all over his face, "Each day I wonder before my sleep... I ask myself how were my friends killed before their heads got mounted on spikes?" he said, his voice nearly broke, "Were they tortured and killed slowly? Or were they killed right away under mercy?" The death of his gaze fell on us, his guests that gawked at the sight.  
"This is the source of the fear you saw earlier. _This_ awaits us."

_To be continued..._

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**~ REVIEW REVIEW FOR MORE CHAPTERS AND OC APPEARANCES ~**


	8. Chapter 00 - SPECIALS

**A/N: It's my birthday today so it inspired me to make a bonus(?) comic-relief chapter while the main characters are still alive lolol I'm gonna kill someone by chapter 5. WAIT that sounds weird, I'm gonna get rid of an oc/canon character is what I meant, just sayin'.  
I did my best in this attempt of comedy but if you don't find it funny, there's always those tragic next chapters to look forward to. The characters are a bit wacky here and so as mine sooo enjoy!**

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**Part 1- The Party**

Have you ever wondered how ghouls celebrate their birthdays? Of course there's no colorful cakes with cute decorations on it, no sorts of sweet beverages to quench the thirst, and no delicious pizza that people can't seem to live without on their tables at parties.  
But adorning the venue for the celebration with colorful baloons, confetti, and creative banners can do the trick as a simple birthday party for us ghouls. As for the food served to the guests and celebrant, well... you can already tell what's on our menu, right?

But today was Yoriko's birthday, a young teenage girl sprouting in her youth, and Touka's dearest friend. As the birthday girl, the plan was a surprise party for her that would be held here in Anteiku, which was suggested and begged by Touka because they'll be separated by the end of their school year soon and for that, she wanted to specially create all the arrangements herself. Given that Yoshimura-san had a heart soft as his usual smile, he permitted her to occupy the cafe with her friend and some more friends or relative of her friend.

One little thing to mention was that she had no idea how to pull it all off, the food preparations to be exact, considering that it was a party for a _human_. Yes, it was a struggle for any ghoul that all her enthusiasm sunk down the pit.

Early that morning, she was fixated inside the kitchen, cooking whatever the hell was in her cook book she bought the other day. She fried and sauteed, sifted and stirred in her pan and pot, she worked really hard just for one girl, I'd give her that respect.  
But she only found a stone to hit herself with, she didn't know if her cooking was any good when couldn't even criticize the taste of the food (human food wasn't appealing to ghouls in the slightest).

"You can order food somewhere, ya know," I peered into the kitchen Touka was in. I gulped to see the amount of mess she made, the place reeked of... unpleasant aroma that I had to squeeze my nose and breath through my trachea. It was amazing that she could withstand the stench without even a mask to cover her own nose.

However, she was stubborn as iron to accept my simple suggestion, "Can't. She always cooked for me. It's her birthday anyway so I wanted to return the favor," she then glared at me when I taunted a grin on her poor prior attempts to create decent food. "I _don't_ need your judgement. I get enough shit already," Touka snarled, slamming a wet rag on the sink with frustration.

"Whatever floats your boat," I stormed in the kitchen without another word though she complained about my presence.  
And that was when I saw another delirious cook scavenging though the drawers and cabinets, his usual scowl on display. Of course it was Kirihara, this guy's rarely seen away from Touka lately, like two peas in a pod. They couldn't seem to be separated no matter how their eyes burned when they bickered each day.  
On the hot-tempered ghoul's hand was a picture of a typical birthday cake with colorful swirls on top and some cherries in the middle of the white frosting. He tinkered with the oven's buttons and switches and inspected it with curiosity, surely, he didn't know what to do either, "Put your head in the oven. That's one way for a surprise cake."

I know I started to speak differently, like cheekily from how I used to. Hanging out with brass-talkers like them sort of influenced my language, I began to talk sarcastically often and mouth rude slurs when pissed or as to ridicule, it became a habit whenever I chat with the two. On the bright side, it did lessen my push-over image. Though I always had two choices on who I could hang out with: the two mafia love-hate couple or with Kaneki who seemed to be the most timid and gentlest guy I met, but I just didn't feel like reading and discussing books with him, the books were his best friends (and the blond guy usually with him) so I went for the first choice of buddies. Not that I had something against bookworms.

"Touka, why the _hell_ did you let her in?" he eyed me with blaze in his bright blue pupils, "She's obviously here to screw around."

"She barged in and I'm too _busy_ to kick her out," said Touka, she stirred the concoction in a pot on stove. Her eyes not leaving focus but the tip of her kitchen knife was directed at the guy, "Get _back_ to work, bonehead."

I sat on top of the kitchen counter and sighed, crossing my leg over the other as I watch them go all-out for a little human girl. I know all I did was run my mouth at them like some know-it-all when I also didn't know how to cook but I did know some ideas to go around the situation easily, "Instead of lashing at me for your failures, why now ask Kaneki? He might know a thing or so about food than you two combined." They eyed me for that, though I wasn't sure what to make out of the expression they both shared. They scowled of course, but it was in a different way from being vexed of me. Maybe I said something clever.

"Knock, knock," said Takeshi, he probably didn't know the cafe was closed for the occasion. He stood by the door frame with a dry look on his face. _A mess, right... _

"We're closed, Takeshi," Touka managed to say as she ground some beans this time on the counter.

"I see. It's a dump here, did Anteiku went bankrupt already?" he asked us. While the other two worked on their cooking, I entertained Takeshi away from the commotion he didn't have to see, which resulted to him asking me out for a walk, "Just follow the instructions in your books and you'll be fine," he said reassuringly then I walked with him out the cafe.

"S-So, what's on your mind?" A drop of sweat fell down the small of my forehead then onto the concrete sidewalk, I was with a man whom I scarcely had any idea of his motives. I couldn't predict what ran in his brain, like a sentence I kept reading on and on but was still gibberish to me. He just walked for a while in silence, making sure he didn't paced ahead or me getting left behind. The mixed noises of the hectic city roared at our ears.

"You have a strange relationship with those two," he pointed out and I practically jumped at what he meant.

I stared at him, "Yeah, well I'm that 'third friend'. The extra, I suppose. Not that it's a problem for me, but there are really times that they tend to be too close and I prefer to distance myself from that. It makes me feel like a wall or something." Not sure why I told him that, but I felt the need to explain the friendship I shared.

Takeshi only nodded, "That's why you agreed on a date with me so you could leave them alone?" There was an unusual... subtle flirt in his tone, but I dismissed the thought right away, it was unlikely.

That was when I attempted to dig the edge of my elbow at the side of his ribs, but he dodged with a grin forming on his lips, "Of course not. I sometimes don't feel like helping them with petty stuff. I'm not a fan of banging my head against the wall, and I hardly know their birthday girl."

"Not much of a true friend eh?"

"I _would_ kill for them," I hissed at his false accusation, rather guilty a bit for being slightly true. His eyes widened by a fraction at that, "... _Say_, are we talking about the same people?" I asked, raising a brow.

"We're talking about Lin and Mako."

_Okay, who are those people? I thought he was referring to Touka and Kirihara._

He took out a small bottle from his coat and gulped down the remaining of its contents. Inside the hourglass-like bottle was a few droplets of red liquid, which I assumed was blood. _Wait... _I gasped at a realization, I swiftly snatched the bottle and sniffed it, "Old blood," I said, my eyes were deadpan as the sound of my voice, "You're drunk."

"So are you," he retorted with a sly smirk on his face.

My mouth was perfectly in a shape of an 'o', wide open enough for butterflies to enter. I squinted at him and shook head, producing a hopeless laughter, "I don't know who I am anymore." I grabbed the length of his arm and slightly shook him, "Where's your house?" He didn't answer, just wobbled from where he stood, he had the slight amount of common sense to not trust me of his address so from there I dragged him back to Anteiku before he could pass out.

The amount of crowd that I bumped into was just too much, like some people had the nerve to glare at me when they were the ones who ran into me like there was no tomorrow. The drunkard with me didn't help me one bit, his steps had grown silly, his dark eyes were slightly dazed and he talked nonstop about stuff I wouldn't know, everything he had done was the opposite of what he normally would do. Well, he was drunk in broad daylight after all.

I gasped then froze on my tracks when I witnessed fire trucks and an ambulance sped up near the street reaching Anteiku, that was also a few blocks away. My heart felt stuck in my throat and I swallowed down my jitters. _Please don't make a right... _

The emergency vehicles... made a right at the intersection towards the cafe. _God dammit._

Reaching the front of the establishment on foot, I met the birthday girl. Her short rusty blond hair swayed at the gales of the breeze that mixed with the cruel scent of smoke, her widened limelight amber eyes stared right into my soul as she sprinted towards me. This girl snatched my hands and held it into her cold ones, making me drop my grip of Takeshi (he stood silent there anyways). "You must be Saika-san! Thank god you're here!" she said, "Their fire alarm went on because of burnt cake and roasted chicken." I was in loss of words but I was able to register what was happening.

Soon, the crowd that witnessed the ridiculous accident dissipated into bundles somewhere else and I was left with Yoriko and Takeshi, "Okay... I know this isn't your ideal birthday party but how did this happen? Where's the suspects?"

She squeezed my hands tight, I could feel the sweat on her palms, her bright orange eyes glinted under the sun rays, "I actually arrived early and when I entered the cafe, the kitchen was fuming smoke that triggered the fire alarm system. There was no one else inside so I called the fire station still and then Touka, she said she was looking for Kaneki Ken-kun for help at something."

"And Kirihara?"

"... He's with Touka." She withdrew her grip from mine and frowned.

I sighed, "I think I got the gist," so then I reached for my phone in my pocket and quickly dialed numbers on the screen, "And I'm telling on them." I know it was partly my fault for mentioning a rotten piece of advice on the two but hey, I suddenly liked sneezing and blaming it on someone else.

As soon as the tip of my finger pressed on the last digit of the manager's phone number, a violet-haired girl appeared in front of me, her breath in puffs and her hand swiping my phone off my palm and... she smashed it under her feet! With the help of her partner in crime, it was fragmented on the ground and into tinier bits. Kirihara profusely stomped on the remains of my poor phone. I was so shocked and pissed, I could cry.

"Well this party's gonna be..." Kirihara turned to look me in the eyes, he trailed off his words.

Touka smirked cynically and followed on what he said, "_Smashing."_

* * *

**Part 2 - Change**

Today was my day off, the day where I spend the time alone by myself because socializing was exhausting as it was a strain on my neck.  
I strolled by the usual spots in the city like passed the restaurants, shops, and whatnot. Of course, the crowd would never be lost in my list of daily complaints of the city.

I bumped into some people I knew as customers and some I didn't want to meet on a hot afternoon. It just _had _to be the CCG trio I met a few weeks ago and I wasn't ready to meet them again after the FGGE incident on me.

There the three was, in front of a pet store, well the two were who happened to be the blonde and brunette foreigners, Rikio was inside the store inspecting aquariums and cages of creepy crawlies. The foreigners said hi and attempted to ask questions but I made a poor alibi that I was late for work because I panicked a bit. _Hurray for my stupidity. _

"You look pale, Saika," the young lady pointed out, I was surprised she didn't use honorifics on my name.

"You okay?" Christian asked.

"No, I'm not. Hi. Look, I'm gonna go now," I smiled awkwardly. I know I had just met them and they didn't leave a bad first impression on me – except Rokuro, but they were like those people you tend hate no matter what they do, _and_ they were humans that happened to work for the CCG so it may be natural for me to dislike them.

"Hold up," I felt a heavy force on my shoulder keeping me from bailing off. It was Rokuro holding me in place. And I knew there was no way out now. On the palm of his hand as he sneered at me was an eight-legged furry nightmare that had striking golden rings around each of its legs, "What's wrong? You're sweating now." I gulped, my legs felt hefty like stones were attached on my feet.

My eyes were attached to the spider at his hand and when he noticed I was looking at it like the thing would swallow me whole, he rocked his palm and drew the insect closer to me. _Bastard. _I didn't move, my body was poisoned with dread that it paralyzed me.

"Rokuro-san, we're leaving. We'll be late!" Chesska said like a diligent investigator she was who refused to be tardy.

"She's right, we have to report right away," Christian agreed, nodding his head.

"Chill out," he grinned, I didn't like it, "You go on and kiss the asses of our bosses."

The two foreigners glared at him, he obviously stepped on a mine. Chesska shoved a briefcase at Rokuro (which he just let it drop on the tiles) and left with Christian, not even bothering to look at me when they did.

"W-Wow, you pissed them off," I said. I was seriously cornered against the glass paned window of the shop, my sweat trickled down my cheeks like waterfalls and I earned a smirk from that statement. He drew closer to me with his sinister expression. He _definitely_ found one of my weaknesses.

"Oh, I just don't like sweet-talking anyone and no worries, the three of us will always get along by the end of the day," he didn't seize the grip on my shoulder, "It's just a small creature," he cooed. The creature he spoke of was gigantic to me the more I stared at it.

_Very touching, even though you offended your coworkers. _

"..."

"Guess what it is," he demanded.

"You know I'm scared, right?"

"No damn clue. Guess first."

"Black widow thing."

"Dumb guess. A tarantula, the Chaco golden knee," he let go of me then grabbed the edge of my chin with his free index finger and thumb, forcing me to meet his eyes. "I almost forgot. You have to pay for that coffee before at the cafe. You have no shame huh? Leaving the tab on us like that," he mocked.

_That wasn't free?!_

"You're charging me even though I wasted my afternoon for your dumb questions?"

"Six thousand yen," he dropped his fingers from my chin and held out his palm in front of my face, expecting me to pay. His other hand still cradling the scary creature, I grimaced when one of its legs moved. _Please don't jump at me. Oh my god. _The grin on his face fainted off as he waited for his six thousand.

Giving up at his blackmailing scheme, I reached for my wallet in my back pocket and handed out my spare ten thousand bill, "Have a change for this?" I glowered at him. He nodded and I sighed that I could finally be out of his debt.

He took the bill out of my touch, "Here's your change."

There on the expanse of my moistened palm stood the eight legged nightmare that he dropped.

* * *

**Sidenote: According to makyun at tumblr, old ****blood can make a ghoul drunk because they can't digest alcohol. *the more u know***

**Part 2 of chapter 4 will be by Sunday, see ya in the next one~**


	9. Chapter 4 (Part 2)

**A/N: Yah, I removed a few names whom I think aren't active readers anymore in the SYOC list. Not that it'll affect the storyline anyway, just lessen the amount of characters I have to scrutinize with (can't sleep at night figuring out how to portray your characters, no lie, but fun). Anyhow, there's two more new OCs that'll appear in the next arc.**

**and**

**FORGIVE ME FOR SHAMELESSLY ADVERTISING MY NEW TG FIC. It's called "Ideal White", which is in my profile (yeah i like titles with ideal + color in it), if you love Kaneki fics and feels with little bit of fluff, I suggest you check it out and tell me what you think :)**

**Enjoy!**

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_**\- Con Artist Arc -**_

**Chapter 4: The Invisible Monsters (Part 2)**

_Ugh. Too bright._

The sun gently towered along the softly dispersed white clouds on the horizon of tangerine and cerulean skies.

It was a beginning of a new day.

Then the smell of summer grass and wet earth, I inhaled its soothing scent as I walked by the empty park with the sleepy teenagers with me. Their eyes were barely open and they walked funny but as for me, I got used to late-night strolls.

We were given routes and instructions to pass down the sewers as the safest shortcut back to Anteiku beforehand, of course, given and drawn by the gallant Rikio of Shibuya and his geisha friend, Natsuno Moe. They were very kind to their guests whom they wished to recruit to their group, but Touka's only and last words to their offer was: "We belong in Anteiku."

I was hopeful that she'd be careful whenever she termed the word 'we' as she'd refer to me with Anteiku.

Maybe Touka was just too soft.

Kaneki, on the other hand, made sure the manager would know of their fallen group. It somehow lifted their spirits knowing Yoshimura-san could be of help with their unfortunate situations because for all we know, either one of them could have their head on spikes any day. Rikio swore his revenge on that, I had never since malice as great as his, yet he stood strong and caring for his comrades.

"We still going to school?" Kirihara asked Touka.

"_Obviously_," Touka said, her eyes hooded and her mood cranky already.

I yawned and stretched out my arms high in the air, I wondered if the manager would lecture us for coming home at this time of hour. He'd surely be worried and understand but I hope we didn't cause him so much trouble for our disappearance last night.

One more street to go and our adventure would be over. The city was already buzzing from traffic and rushed workers on an early morning. That was how hectic Tokyo was during the day.

"Touka-chan! Watch out!" Kaneki yelled to her, him and Kirihara held both of her arms in place before she could cross the swarm of hasty vehicles at a blue light of the road.

She was bewildered in her own thoughts but the loud honks of cars snapped her back to reality.

What bothered her was something I could guess. Last night's ugly event must had been the cause. No matter how firm and cold she built her walls of indifference were, she couldn't mask away the pity and anguish soaring within her.

But she was strong, she had to be.

* * *

Sweat ran down my exposed limbs. The weather was dry enough to had anyone suffer from heat exhaustion. And some things just often didn't seem fit to my expectations. Like today, I was hoping for another ordinary boring day, but instead, I received text messages from both Takeshi and old man Mado at the same time, it looked like something was up in and outside the 20th ward.

According to Takeshi, I had told me to meet him at some park, alone and I did went to see him out of curiosity.

On the other hand, Mado-san demanded my arrival at the CCG HQ by in two days.

At this time, I never thought that a boring day meant 'peaceful', and now those days had ended.

The park was filled with noisy kids and some angry parents being worry-warts, and there sitting on a swing was Takeshi, his eyes that spotted me right off the bat never left mine as soon as I sat with him. I rocked my seat on the swing to and fro as I waited for him to reveal his thoughts. It was exhausting to guess.

Then moments after, his lips finally began to move some words and his free hand kept my ride steady.

His dull gray orbs eyed me firmly, "Yoshimura knows."

My brows scrunched up together and my grip on the swing chains grew tight and glistened of cold sweat suddenly, "Knows what?"

"Who you actually work for."

Kids laughed and played in front of us, their smiles beamed as they ran on each other. They played hide and seek or just a simple games of tag, these little ones were far too carefree, which was normal considering they were children.

They see the good and feel happy about it but when shown of the bad, they cry and agonize over it.

Children could only focus on one piece at a time, they couldn't look at both glass shards of white and black then feel or think one thing, instead they'd get confused rather than bundling it together to see what color it produced. They were lucky to be ignorant of how grey was reality.

... Grey. A color that lit up my way for years and years whenever I embarked on the paths of ambiguity.

No one could really know or predict what our decisions lead, a theory or doubt may create a difference but not the revelation of truth behind the mystical red curtains. Life mysteries at its best, I'd say.

And I tried to solve these life mysteries once or twice but delving deeper into its tangled webs made everything out of reach much more, just like this _mysterious_ man next to me. He probably thought that no one would be interested enough to tail our conversation at a children's park, but now his statement rendered me confused. It made me think from the very start of my day at the 20th ward because I shouldn't be allowed to live idly by with both ghouls and humans. I had to pick, didn't I?

I swallowed down my fears and answered, "And you knew from the start."

"Whoever you are _wasn't_ my concern, but you're becoming a bigger threat than you used to, well that old man and weird kid you work with to be exact."

_... I'm sorry._

It was a chain of events, the old goat probably made a move inside the ward then Takeshi pointed his finger at me the obvious suspect. So in clear conclusion, I'd move as well.

My instincts screamed to twist and stretch the truth into lies, "I just was scared. Scared of what _they_ will do to me." I lowered my eyes. This was a habit, a bad habit of mine that saved and endangered me at the same time. Faking and lying was all I did 24/7.

His gaze hardened as did his words, "How long do you plan to keep up with the damsel in distress act?"

I sighed after he didn't bite the bullet instantly. I shot back at him, "And how long _did _you plan to keep the good connections with a traitor? I recall, you always made casual small talk with me whenever you get the chance, you shared good movies with me when I was injured, though when you got drunk, you almost vomited on me–"

"Hey –"

"All right. You got me. I'm a cutthroat. What are _you_? _You_ who knew all along and yet you let it all happen. What you did is no different from _not _testifying against the criminal who killed your friends, right?

He rose from he sat and pulled me to my feet, his hands clutching on my collar, I heard the material slightly ripping, then I was under his feral glare.  
"Saika, you don't have to manipulate everything in this conversation. It's decided," he said, but decided by whom?  
"You got three days to leave this ward. Touka and the others don't know of it _yet_ but you could always lie your way out. That's all your good at, right?"

Some kids stopped their games and watched as with fright in their eyes and some parents grabbed their children away from our growing commotion, "Takeshi, you're not as safe as you think you are."

He shot me a grin before letting me go, "I'll take my chances, _Dog_."

I cleared my throat and fixed the collar of my shirt. I reacted at the nickname with a sour frown but I dropped the expression with a sad smile, "Come on, we shouldn't be like this. It might be our last time seeing each other."

It was a shame that the bonds that I formed with the ghouls in this ward had to be severed this way. Part of me wanted to stay and live normally with them but circumstances made it all unlikely.

He corrected, "_The_ last as friends."

"We were _friends_?" I asked, my dark locks of hair danced with the harsh breeze. The clouds began to dim and rumble for an incoming rainfall, the kids stepped out of the park and ran all the way home with their parents catching up to them. It wasn't very long that small then heavy droplets of water had weep from the skies and smothered us with its cold tears, but the two of us remained. Our eyes locked intensely in an unbreakable gaze for a moment, searching for more answers behind the words we threw at each other.

Takeshi held out his hand. He insisted I should take it, "Ever since the day I decided to _not_ kill you."

Watching him say that with an offer of a regular handshake made my heart all fuzzy and warm, but the pleasant feeling didn't last very long as my hand made contact with his. I shook his hand slowly, careful enough to not squeeze his palm too hard out of self-hatred and regret. I knew this was a hard decision but I was never given a choice the moment humans tormented me into submitting myself to them.

But I never knew what really pushed me into loving Anteiku and how I even tried to protect it knowing that me leaving and betraying everyone there was bound to happen. Whatever that was, it was no doubt the source of my wavering feelings.

I softly chuckled under the raging skies, our bodies getting drenched by the downpours, "Not your best decision. Really."

The next time we'd meet would probably be an unpleasant encounter.

* * *

Night came without me realizing it. I was busy packing my belongings in boxes and bags because the sooner I leave, the sooner I might lose the strange hunch that someone's watching me everywhere I went. I wasn't sure if I had gone paranoid all the way but it wasn't normal either if I glared at every movement done by inanimate objects in my room.

I drew myself towards the glass paned window to my room, the azure moonlight kissed my skin and illuminated my form. I reluctantly swung the window open in hopes that the bright full moon I gazed at weren't illusions, and the breeze blew in haste, these gusts freely roamed lands of the earth.

The wind had more freedom than I ever did.

It was so quiet that I could hear my heartbeat, my breathing, and even the slightest movements of my hair as it swayed along with the cold gales.

**_"Are you missing your usual prison food? And by 'prison food' I meant actual prisoners."_**

Then the ground began to shake as a mysterious yet mischievous voice made its way into my line of thoughts.

My vision rattled and I fell on my knees instantly at the sudden force.

A horrible sense of dread was sitting at the pit of my stomach, refusing to leave as my eyes stared into the darkness. It stared right back at me, pulling me towards it. Red eyes. Yellow eyes. Green eyes. It all watched me in amusement.

I heard objects fall on the ground and some shattered into pieces. My chest heaved and dropped at an astounding rate. I screamed in hopes that the terrors would go away.

A sinister laughter echoed in my mind like that was where it originated, it pierced every portion of my brain.

"Stop it..." I mumbled, covering my ears.

"Saika-chan?!" I recoiled when I heard a familiar voice getting near to me.

The lights went on and it burned my eyes for a few seconds then I blinked it away to see everything in its place. No fallen objects nor shattered glass. Everything looked perfectly as it was; _normal_. Except I wasn't the normal one. I was gradually falling into my vortex of insanity.

_Okay, calm down. Your mind's just playing tricks like it used to._

The light revealed who was in front of me was. It was Kaneki, he helped me up to my bed and then sprinted to get a glass of water to calm myself. _How nice of him._

As soon as my breathing calmed I asked him that what on earth was he doing up at this hour but he threw the question back at me and laughed awkwardly. Then he finally told me that he couldn't sleep for he 'is starving but doesn't have the appetite to eat anything'.

What was more unusual than what he had said was to see him on this floor. This room I was in was at the third floor of the cafe, I was the only occupant here since the whole floor was supposedly for the use of storage supplies and tools.

I had told him to sit next to me and had him elaborate his words, "Anteiku isn't lacking food supplies," I said softly.

"I guess so, but what about you? Why were you screaming? And..." he looked around my room with a frown, "Why's there boxes here?"

I couldn't answer him about the screaming but I simply explained the boxes, "I'm moving for college. To Kyoto in two days. It's far but I'll manage," I lied as usual, adding more details to it tend to make it more realistic. Trust me, I'm a source.

And what more could I tell him anyway. That I was suddenly going insane again? That there was an earthquake but I think I was the only who felt it?

Everything was too intangible for me to comprehend.

But then he pressed his question even more, "Really? What about the screaming? Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Let's just leave it as that. It's not a big problem and it's getting late, you should head back to your room or grab a snack before you do," I said, averting away from the subject but he seemed to have grown uneasy at what I had said, "You still can't decide to eat humans."

Though I was successful in my diversion, I felt the need to help the guy. He needed a pat on the back to better himself.

"I am human, but my body... is betraying me..."

"... You're a ghoul now. Eat if you want to live. There's no antidote or drug that can revert you back, you just have to live like a ghoul, okay?" He didn't respond, from the guilt that drowned in his eyes, he was also confused on which side he was on and that was understandable. The only way for him to understand the importance of eating human flesh was indeed to starve himself, "If you're human then I'll devour you right now," I jested.

Kaneki twitched from his seat and I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, "That wasn't funny," he said, trying to sound angry but failed.

He then just stood up and bid a goodnight. He deserved a good night sleep and a nice chunk of meat.

From there, I hopped out the window and down the dark alley of the cafe. The night was deep and I didn't want anyone knowing I took a night stroll around the city once more.

I kicked a small rock at each step, I could see the city lights in different bright hues from afar and I walked towards it, but then... a strong and heavy weight pounded me to the ground from behind. I forced to twist my neck to see the assailant was a man, I only caught a glimpse of his flashing and fierce red eyes.  
He had worn a white hoodie and an ivory theater mask that had a prominent frown carved frown on its features.

This must be one of the consequences waiting on a silver platter. I hope. I can smell my blood on it. Literally.

* * *

**I kept this one shorter than most chapters, I'm training myself not to create long-ass chapters. Well then, see you in the last chapter of this arc~**

**~ REVIEW REVIEW FOR MORE CHAPTERS AND OC APPEARANCES ~**


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